Hazbin Hotel: Angel's Reason
by InGodzHandz
Summary: This story explores Angel's motivation for wanting to leave hell: his daughter. Angel reminisces about the life he spent with her before she died. Warning: Graphic violence is described.
1. Chapter 1

It was a dark evening in hell. It usually was, but it was unusually so for the demon heading to the Happy Hotel.

Everyone had laughed when they heard about this "experiment" on TV, even Cherri, but Angel Dust, he felt the spark of something he thought he had lost: hope. But it wasn't just normal hope, it was hope that connected him to memories, more specifically memories of the child he had lost forever.

Her name was Cassandra Maria di Lucchese. She was the result of an experimental phase he was in with a good high school friend when he wanted to know whether he was bi or purely gay. He realized he was gay, and she accepted it. They left the relationship on good terms.

Unknown to either of them, Cassie was conceived. Her mother Maggie Walters was only 17. He was 19. She wrote him a letter as soon as she found out four months later. He wasn't in love with her and she wasn't in love with him. Nevertheless, they decided to enter a common law marriage, so that Maggie wouldn't bear the shame of being an unwed mother and the child would be supported at least from a distance with money from his family. They didn't plan on even living together. Angel had too much living to do.

It was so scandalous. His father was so angry. Angel couldn't suppress a smile at that memory.

That smile grew wider when he remembered the day Cassie was born.

He was at the birth per Maggie's request. She didn't want to be alone and it was his fault, so he thought he could at least support her even if he intended to only pay child support and visit every so often. She was his friend after all.

Angel only planned on staying until the birth was over. He would sign the birth certificate, pay the bills, and leave to drink himself to oblivion. That was the plan, but everything changed the moment he met his daughter.

Tears formed at the corner of his eyes in remembrance. When he entered that room and looked into his baby's eyes, his heart melted. When Maggie let him hold her, he knew from that moment on that he would be wrapped around her finger. He fell madly in love and knew that nothing would ever be the same for him.

They named her Cassandra and called her Cassie for short. When her mother left the hospital, Angel went home with her and helped her around the clock. He forgot all his plans for most of the next several months. He hardly left Cassie's side and forgot about his substance addictions and other commitments for a while. His family would have to come pick him up for work because they knew he wouldn't leave his daughter without some persuasion.

Most of the family couldn't understand his level of devotion, not even the ones who were legitimately married. Whenever he was away, Cassie was all he thought about.

It was ironic. He was a queer man whose heart had been stolen by a baby girl. When he would finally let himself leave her side for a night on the town, his romantic flings and drinking buddies pointed out his hypocrisy and laughed in his face, but he didn't care.

As she grew up, Angel remained very involved in her life despite his work and his flings and his addictions. He came by so often that Maggie made him his own guest room. He prided himself on being the Daddy that his father never was. As a result, he and Cassie were very close.

They bonded over their shared love of clothes and the arts, especially dancing and singing. He took her to more than a few dance clubs where no child had any business being, but she didn't mind and somehow managed to survive more than a few of his drunken nights out on the town.

He made sure she had the best of everything as only a father of the mob could do. He set his "wife" and his baby up in a nice house in a nice neighborhood and had her sent to the best schools. He tried not to spoil Cassie, but sometimes, he couldn't help himself. He just couldn't resist seeing her smile.

Nevertheless, Cassie was a good kid, sometimes too good, and it only got worse as she got older. Her mother grew more involved with the local Catholic Church and so did Cassie. They both grew into very devout and very good people. So good that they decided they weren't comfortable living off the mob's money anymore.

Of course, Angel had problems with that and more problems when Maggie and Cassie decided to live honestly in a crappy apartment off their own hard-earned money.

He and his daughter remained on good terms, mostly, but she started resenting him and what his family did. Cassie had strong moral convictions and a mind of her own. Two things that got her and Angel into many arguments throughout her teenage years. As a result, Angel started spending more time away from her.

All those arguments were Angel's biggest regrets. He cursed his mind's renewed ability to remember as he reflected on his last evening with her.

It was Halloween 1946. Angel parked his black 1946 dodge in front of one Little Italy's biggest theaters to see Cassie. He had been out of town for a month while he and his family took care of some business in Italy and was dying to see her.

Cassie was 17 and had graduated high school the spring before. Her dream was to be a Broadway star, so she joined this theater to work herself up to that goal.

Unbeknownst to her, her Daddy had pulled some strings and made some threats to make that happen. There were many advantages to being a member of a crime family.

Angel remembered checking himself in the rearview mirror before heading inside. His human appearance was jarring in comparison to how he looked now. He had dark brown hair and light green eyes. His skin was olive, and he wore a suit like what he wore in death, except for the darker colors of course.

After making sure he looked fine, he strutted out of the car and into the theater. It was empty out front in the lobby except for a lone janitor sweeping the floor. He looked around for a second before the janitor yelled at him.

Without looking up at him, the janitor said curtly, "Hey, buddy! If you ain't here for an audition, could ya move it? Some of us have work to do."

Annoyed at his tone, Angel said, "Shut it, pal. I'm the father of one of the dancers, and I wanna see my little girl. Is that alright wit' ya?"

"I suppose," the janitor said still without even looking for him. "What's her name?"

Angel's lips curled into a smug smile and said, "Cassandra di Lucchese. I'm her Daddy, Angelo di Lucchese."

The janitor finally stopped his work to look up at him and stared at him in pure unadulterated terror. His attitude was gone, and he began to shake.

Angel adored this terror that came whenever he spoke his family name. He adored the prestige and the notoriety that gave him and his family his power. He also adored the look on his face. It was priceless.

"Not so sassy now, are we, pal?" Angel gloated as he walked over to the now cowering janitor.

"I-I'm sorry," the janitor said. "I-I didn't know…P-Please…I'll give you anything…"

"Good, well, lucky for you, I just want to know one thing," Angel said standing over him and intimidating him with his presence. "Do you know where my daughter is?"

"Uh, no…S-Sorry. I-I know every gal in the chorus line…Th-there's no Cassandra di Lucchese here…You must h-have the wrong place," the janitor said backing up against the wall.

Angel looked to the side and sighed deeply before he asked, "Do ya know a Cassie Walters?"

"Oh, yeah, she's in rehearsal right now, but it's almost over," the janitor said. "She's right in there."

Angel walked past him in preoccupation and said, "Thank you. Next time watch the attitude, buster."

He followed the jazz music and walked through the theater doors. The girls were in the middle of a tap-dancing number, so rather than interrupt, he stood against the wall and sulked.

When she started high school, Cassie started using her mother's last name instead of his whenever she introduced herself and whenever she signed her name. When they argued about it, she explained to him that she wanted to be known as herself rather than the daughter of a mafioso. Cassie didn't want to be associated with any of them.

That irritated Angel to no end. That was probably why he kept choosing to forget about it rather than keep fighting pointlessly.

He watched Cassie dance to get his mind on something better. She had the tap-dancing solo, and boy, was she knocking it out. Her feet moved with such dexterity, finesse, and speed. He never knew where God got that talent to put in her. It certainly didn't come from him or her mother. She was unbelievable.

On top of that, she could sing, she could act, and she could play several instruments. Cassie was a Broadway star in the making.

Angel smiled. He couldn't help but be proud.

The rehearsal soon ended, and as soon as all the ladies returned to their dressing room, Angel talked to the director about her progress and wrote him another check. Then when he thought the ladies had enough time to make themselves decent, he got the director to show him where the dressing room was.

The director knocked on the door and yelled, "Are you all decent? One of your Dad's wants to come in!"

When he received the confirmations, the director opened the door and said, "Go on in, Mr. Lucchese."

"Much obliged," Angel said as he strutted in.

He walked past about a dozen other girls before he saw his still sitting in front of a mirror.

Cassie had her mother's face, but she had his hair, eyes, svelte body, and olive skin. Of course, Angel was biased, but she was absolutely beautiful.

She was wearing a white blouse with black pants, her tap-dancing shoes, and an old-fashioned looking broch. For some reason, her long hair was up in a bun. Cassie always had a weird sense of style. Just like him. It made him so happy.

Cassie was too busy adjusting her hair to notice he was present, so Angel crept up, hugged her from behind, and said, "Guess who?"

Cassie turned around, hugged him, and squealed in surprise, "Dad! You're back!"

Angel picked her up, spun her around, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and said, "What's the buzz, bambina? I swear to God you're getting lighter. All that dancing is making you too thin."

"I missed you too, Dad," Cassie said when her Dad finally put her down. "But in your letter, you said you weren't coming back for another week."

"We got done early so I thought I'd surprise you," Angel said leaning against the table.

"So, you lied to me? That's just swell."

"I'm here for one minute, and you decide to give me sass. Is that any way to treat your old man?"

"You're not that old."

"And that's why you're my favorite."

Cassie rolled her eyes playfully, sat back in her chair, and went back to messing with her hair.

"By the way, what's with the new duds?" Angel asked. "Not that I don't like 'em. Mind you. Just curious."

"It's a costume," Cassie replied twirling around and showing him her cape. "I'm goin' to a Halloween party with the cast tonight after we go out for dinner. I'm goin' as Dracula."

"So, you're goin' for more of a Bela Lugosi look then?"

"You got it. I've been lookin' forward to this all month. I spent days getting the cape just right and getting all the clothes perfect. There's gonna be a costume contest, and whoever wins gets treated by all the losers."

"No kiddin'? Well, in that case, your costume could use some work."

"What's wrong with it?" Cassie asked indignantly.

"First of all, you need to wear your hair down," Angel said turning her back around and pulling bobby pins out of her hair. "For God's sake, Cass, ya look like a fuddy-duddy school teacher."

"Dad!" Cassie complained putting her hands on top of his. "Stop it. You know it takes forever to do anything with this hair. Besides, I'm supposed to look like Bela Lugosi. Suave and sophisticated and all that jazz…"

Angel gently pushed her hands off, continued pulling out bobby pins until her hair was again at its full long length, and said, "Cassie, babe, there's nothin' suave and sophisticated about looking like my high school English teacher. You look fuddy-duddy."

"But I'm supposed to look old, Dad," she retorted. "I'm Dracula…"

"He lets his hair flow freely in the book," he retorted while brushing out her hair. "Remember? Think of it this way. You're now more authentic than all the other posers. Besides, you look better with your hair down, Cass."

"I suppose you have a point," Cassie relented as her father finished brushing her hair and put the brush down.

"Of course, I do," Angel said quietly as he leaned in closer to her ear. "I'm a queer. You can trust me when it comes to this stuff."

Cassie smiled and said, "That is true."

"And take off this cheesy broch," Angel said taking the opportunity to snatch the broch from the collar Cassie's shirt and toss it in the trash. "Good God, babe, are you tryin' to look like a geezer? Where'd you get this garbage anyway?"

"Dad!" Cassie said reaching down into the waste basket and pulling her broch out. "I bought this at a trinket shop with Caterina when we were shoppin' for costume supplies. Excuse me if this theater gig doesn't pay much."

"I understand, so why don't ya wear this instead?" Angel replied pulling a ruby diamond platinum pendant out of his pocket. "I bought it for ya as a little souvenir from Italy. Let me put on for you."

"Dad," Cassie said in surprise while Angel clasped it around her neck for her. "It's beautiful."

Angel kissed her cheek and said, "There, doesn't that look better?"

"Dad, I don't know what to say," Cassie managed to get out while looking over the pendant in awe.

"No need to thank me, bambina," Angel replied with a smile while readjusting her hair. "You know how I love to get my girl pretty things."

Cassie then paused, turned to him, and asked with a look of suspicion, "Dad, where did you get this?"

"I told you, Italy," Angel said purposely dodging the question.

"Where specifically?"

"At a store."

Cassie continued studying his face in a way she knew annoyed him.

"Bambina, what's that face supposed to mean?" he whined.

"Cassie, are ya ready to go or what?" Cassie's friend, Caterina, said walking up in her witch costume and saving him from another unwanted explanation which would lead to an unwanted argument. "Wow, honey, your outfit is killer, especially that pendant you're wearing."

"Told ya," Angel said hugging his daughter on the side and kissing her on the cheek again before walking away. "I won't hold you up since you got plans. I love you, and I'll call ya later. Okay?"

Cassie sighed and said, "Ok, see ya."

"Bye, Mr. Lu—Ow!" Caterina started to say before Cassie swiftly elbowed her in the side. "I mean, bye, Mr. Walters."

"Bye," Angel said heading walking away with mixed feelings.

Apparently, her school buddy Caterina was the only one who knew who Cassie really was. If that was what she wanted, then who was he to say no?

His thoughts were interrupted by an obnoxious, grandstanding masculine voice saying, "Hey, Cass!"

Angel turned around. He knew this fathead's voice. He was the doll-dizzy creep who took his baby out on the town, got wasted, and left her out in Harlem by herself in the wee hours of the morning.

Thankfully, Cassie had the sense to find a payphone and call Angel to come to get her. Naturally, he did not like that boy.

Angel hid behind a rack of clothes and watched from a distance. Tony was dressed in the same outfit Cassie was much to her chagrin.

"You ain't supposed to be in here, Tony," Cassie said in annoyance walking past him with Caterina.

"Yeah, creep, get a move on," Caterina said strutting past him as well.

"Cassie, look at this," Tony said. "You and I are dressed the same. How about that?"

"Mine looks better," Cassie said playfully paying him little attention. "Yours looks like you bought it from a cheesy department store."

"Well, maybe, but I was thinking we could, you know, go as a couple since we are dressed the same and all," Tony said standing in front of her.

"As swell a time as I'm sure that would be," Cassie replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna say no."

"Why not, babe? I know the first date didn't go so well, but…"

"'Didn't go so well?' I had to call my Dad to get me out of Harlem at 2 in the mornin'. Then, you don't even have the decency to call and apologize?"

"That was over a month ago, babe, you're the faithful one. Don't ya believe in forgiveness?"

"I do, but the Bible doesn't tell ya to act a fool. Scram, Tony."

Cassie walked past him exiting the dressing room without another word with Caterina silently following behind her. Her hands were tightly gripped around the strap of her bag.

Angel knew from that that she was pissed. This knucklehead was not taking no for an answer. He had to do something, and now was the time to do it.

Angel crept up from behind, pushed Tony into a chair, pulled a knife out of his pocket, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and said, "Listen, you active duty fathead. That girl you're so clobbered on is my daughter and she doesn't like you, so you better lay off, or next time, Daddy Angelo di Lucchese is gonna do a little more than just bust your chops. You hear me?"

When Tony meekly nodded, Angel let him go.

Tony fell backward, trembled in his chair in absolute horror, and said, "C-Cassie's a Lucchese? Oh, my God…"

"That's right, buddy," Angel said leaning close to his face. "If you bother her again, you're gonna have the whole Lucchese family on your tail…"

"DADDY!" Angel heard a familiar voice yell behind him.

He turned around and saw his daughter standing pale-faced in embarrassment in the doorway next to Caterina.

"Bambina…" Angel said as Tony took the opportunity to run out of the dressing room.

"Uh, I forgot my purse," Caterina said awkwardly walking past them.

"Dad, what in God's name were you doing?!" Cassie yelled.

"I was getting that creep off your back, Cass," Angel replied.

"He would have left me alone anyways! You didn't have to do that! God have mercy! Now, the whole damn theatre is going to know that I'm a member of the Lucchese family!"

"Good, now, he'll leave you alone!"

"Uh…" Caterina said having walked back when no one was looking. "Cassie, why don't we go?"

"I can't go," Cassie replied.

"Why not?"

"He's going to blab to everyone that I'm the daughter of Angelo di Lucchese. You know how awkward that party's going to be. They're going to keep me at arm's length and treat me like a China doll. That's what always happens."

"But Cass…"

"Get going, Caterina," Cassie said. "You don't wanna keep Johnny waiting."

Caterina sighed, gave her a hug, and said, "Okay, I'll call you later."

Cassie hugged her back and said, "Have fun."

Caterina walked out. Cassie glared at Angel and then walked out behind her.

Angel facepalmed, sighed deeply, and ran out after her yelling, "Cassie! Bambina, where'd you go?! I'm sorry!"

When he didn't hear a reply, Angel sulked back to his car. He had ruined his daughter's evening. The only thing left for him to do was to look for some drugs.

But right as he entered the car, he saw Cassie go out the front door of the theater. She had changed into her normal clothes: a black sweater with a green plaid skirt, normal shoes, and a headband that matched her skirt. The only thing she was still wearing was the ruby pendant.

Cassie saw Angel through the windows, but she clutched her bag and her coat and walked down the stairs as if she didn't see him.

Angel hopped back out of the car and walked over to the other side.

"Cassie, you can't keep ignoring me," he said. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Where do _you_ think I'm going?" Cassie asked. "I'm walking home."

"No, you're not," Angel said throwing the car door open. "Get in."

Cassie turned around, rolled her eyes, and climbed into her Dad's car.

When Angel climbed in, he started the car and started heading for his favorite Italian restaurant. The drive would give them time to talk.

Angel looked over and saw that Cassie was staring out the window.

He sighed and asked, "Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

"It couldn't hurt," she replied.

"Well, then, I'm sorry."

"But you keep doing it."

"I do _not_."

Cassie turned around and said, "Oh, really? Remember Jacob?"

"He was a Jew," Angel said. "You're Catholic. You weren't interested. He wouldn't take the hint."

"Paul?"

"He had it coming."

"Emilio?"

"He gave off bad vibes. I didn't like him."

"Well, how about Steve?"

"Uh…okay, I went too far _that_ time."

" _That_ time? You go too far every single time a guy shows interest in me."

"I was just trying to protect you."

"Protect me? By doing what? By making every boy I turn down think the Lucchese mob is after them?"

"It makes them leave you alone. Doesn't it?"

"Yeah and ruins any chance of having a normal relationship. Do you know how hard it is to be friends with a boy who can't look at you without shuddering in fear?"

"That's what gives us power, bambina," Angel said proudly with a twisted smile. "You should take advantage of it."

"I don't want to," Cassie said passionately after a brief pause. "I don't want people to look at me and be afraid of me. I want them to know I can be their friend, not their enemy. And I want them to be good to me because they know I'm a good person and respect me for who I am, not because I'm forcibly connected by genetics to a bunch of murderers and thieves."

Angel looked at her. His features softened when he saw the passionate tears at the corners of her eyes.

He looked back at the road, sighed deeply, and said, "Cass, I'm really sorry for threatening your suitors. Okay? If it makes you happy, I'll leave 'em alone from now on. Unless they threaten to hurt you or if they actually hurt you. Or, if they get you pregnant. Hell, if that happens, I'll fire a shotgun right into their genitals and up their asses. Either way, they'll never enjoy making love ever again."

"Dear God, Dad," Cassie said looking at him with an amused smile. "Do you always have to talk like you're reading a porn novel?"

"Yes," Angel said as she playfully rolled her eyes. "I hope you're in the mood for Italian food. We're going to Fragole."

"I figured that out when you passed my apartment."

"I love it when you're a wise guy."

"Your apology is accepted by the way."

"Thank God!" Angel said switching the radio on and having his eyes light up when he heard his favorite Halloween song come on. "Oooh, yes! My favorite!"

"Oh, no," Cassie said. "You know how much this song annoys me."

"You know you like it," Angel teased wrapping his arm around her shoulder while he drove. "Now, come here, you."

"Dad, you do this every year," Cassie complained playfully as the opening instrumental part of the song finally finished.

"Just like the magic potion," Angel sang much to his daughter's "chagrin." "You fill me with emotion. You control my very soul. You got me voodoo'd. Who knew the goddess Venus would start this love between us?"

"How appropriate," Cassie added sarcastically.

"You fill me with desire," Angel sang. "You got me voodoo'd."

Finally, Cassie relented, and they sang together, "You knew you had power. Pick the hour when the full moon was above. I was hypnotized when I looked in your eyes and my heart was filled with love. Just like the power of Circe, you've got me at your mercy. Always yours to have and hold, you've got me voodoo'd."

"There, was that so bad?" Angel asked as the song continued with its big band instrumentals.

"It gets more tolerable every year," Cassie admitted as she leaned on his shoulder.

"Then, I'll just have to keep singing it."

"You're insufferable."

Eventually, Angel got them to the restaurant where they had their meal. Fragole was a friend of "the family" so Angel managed to get him and his girl a section to themselves. They had a good time. They got to talk and catch up while enjoying some great food. Everything was fine…until Angel once again opened his big mouth.

Angel had mentioned seeing the end of Cassie's rehearsal, so she had been talking about how her dancing was going.

"I still can't believe I got the solo," Cassie said between bites of spaghetti. "I'm the youngest girl there. I mean, I thought I'd get in the chorus line for sure, but not the solo. Those usually go to the older girls."

"Believe it, Cass," Angel said between sips of wine. "You're goin' places. I always knew you were. I talked to the director while you were changing in the dressing room. He says you cook with helium every time you're on that stage. He knew you were amazing from your first audition. He would have taken you even without my check…"

The words escaped his mouth before he even thought about what he was saying. His only thought then was, "fuck."

Cassie dropped her fork on her plate and yelled, "WHAT?!"

"Oh, shit," Angel said facepalming himself.

"DAD!" Cassie yelled angrily as the color vanished from her face. "How could you?! You knew I wanted to earn my place, but you bribed my director anyway?! What's wrong with you?!"

"Cass, I was only trying to help," Angel said trying to calm her and himself down.

"That's always your goddamn excuse!" Cassie replied standing up from her chair. "Why can't you ever let me earn anything on my own?!"

"Because I don't want to see you fail," Angel said starting to get annoyed himself.

"Failure's a part of life, Dad! You have to work hard to get what you want, and you don't always succeed, but I want to earn what I want because it's the right thing to do! Because that's what's fair!" Cassie yelled back.

Angel finally snapped standing up himself, "I got news for you, Cass! Life isn't fair, and it sure as hell isn't gonna respect your noble intentions!"

She might be mad, but he couldn't take it anymore.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cassie demanded.

"That means I stepped in cuz I knew that unless I did you'd be discarded like all the other nobodies of this world," Angel began. "Do you know how the bigwigs of this world see girls like you? To all them at the top, you're a nobody! To them, you're just a Walters, a name they don't know and don't care about. You're a dime a dozen, and if you go, there are a million others waiting to take your place! To get to the top, you have to slave away for them and do whatever disgraceful, dirty thing they ask! You can't trust them to do the right thing! They won't do the right thing unless you force them to care! That's what our family did and look at where we are now! You have to stop being naïve and take advantage of the connections you have in this world, Cass. Unless you do, you are gonna be eaten alive out there! And I love you too much to watch that happen! You also need to stop pretending you aren't as much a Lucchese as I am for the sake of some naïve, self-righteous, and idealistic crusade!"

"I don't care what you say! I'm a redeemed woman now! I'm not goin' back to livin' as a pampered pet livin' off your blood money. And self-righteous? At least, I'm honest! Unlike you!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"I know all your sins. You're a murdering, lying thief in a family of other murdering, lying thieves! You're a junkie and a drinker who loves sodomy and adultery! But that's not the worst thing about you!"

"What is the worst thing about me then?!"

Cassie's face suddenly fell as if she was hesitating, but Angel was still angry.

"Come on, Cassie!" Angel yelled. "You brought it up! What do I do that you think is so awful?! What could I possibly do that is worse than all those other sins combined! Huh?!"

Angel felt a hard object get thrown at his eye. Thankfully, he blinked before it could do any damage, but he still felt a bruise forming. Angel looked down to see what it was and saw the ruby pendant on the ground.

He looked up to see Cassie crying angry tears.

"You're a hypocrite and a fucking coward," Cassie said before she took her purse and her coat and powerwalked away from the table and out of the restaurant.

Angel picked up the pendant and stared at it silently for a few minutes. When the owner came by to check on them, Angel gave him enough cash to cover the bill and told him to keep the change before he walked outside to find his daughter.

He found her smoking on the sidewalk. He could tell from her face that she had been crying. When she saw him, she turned away until he asked her for a match. She handed him a book of matches from her purse, and he lit his own cigarette. They stood there in silence for a while taking in the scene and watching dusk turn into night. Each of them was trying to cool down in their own way.

Angel knew where Cassie had got her temper from. He wasn't angry at her. He was more confused than anything. There was so much on his mind, but he couldn't will himself to speak until the street lamp finally came on.

"Cassie, I ain't mad at ya," Angel said before taking another puff from his cigarette. "I'm just confused. We used to be so close. You know. Then after ya moved out with your mother, we started fighting more. I understand you hate my family. I do, too. I hate almost every single one of those bastards. But I don't understand why you're upset at me. Why do you think I'm a hypocritical coward?"

Cassie looked at him and visibly hesitated.

"Bambina, you've never been afraid of talking to me," Angel reassured her. "You don't have to start now. You know I would never lay a finger on you for being honest. If I did, you have my permission to fire a shotgun up my ass. Okay? Now, tell me. Why am I a hypocritical coward?"

Cassie sighed and said, "You act like you're a hard-boiled mafia gangster who only really cares about a handful of people, but I know for a fact that that's not who you really want to be. You hate being a part of it as much as I do, but instead of cutting yourself off from it like I am, you indulge your flesh to numb your pain. That's why you indulge in your liquor, your drugs, and your sodomy. You do it to make living with yourself easier because you're miserable. That's why I called you a hypocritical coward. I'm not wrong. Am I?"

Angel paused for a second and asked, "What makes you think I don't like being a part of the mob?"

"When you're drunk, you talk…a lot. I've been around you during your binges often enough to hear it. 'Oh, bambina, I hate killing people for my Dad. I always see their faces in my dreams.' 'Oh, bambina, I wish I was an orphan, so I could do what I wanted with my life.' 'Oh, bambina, I don't like carrying out Dad's stupid campaigns. I'd rather be at the clubs snortin' coke or f****** another queer…'"

"Christ, I really said that to ya?"

"Yes."

"Well, uh, Cassie, I was drunk," Angel said defensively. "I didn't mean any of it."

"Jesus said out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks," Cassie pushed.

"Don't quote the Bible at me."

"That means that something in you wants to leave it even if it's just a little bit."

"Cassie…" Angel said defensively.

"You want to leave, but you won't let yourself admit it!" Cassie said with more passionate tears rolling down her cheeks. "If you were really as bad as the others, I would learn to live with it, but you're not! You're just too scared to change, and one day, it's gonna destroy ya! I love you too much to watch that happen, but there's nothin' I can do, and I hate it!"

Cassie stared at him with her eyes that pierced his soul. In the present and in the past, Angel reflected on her words and knew she was right.

Angel sighed deeply before he said, "Okay, stop it. You're right about me. Why did God make you so damn perceptive?"

"Then, why don't you leave it?" Cassie asked.

"Cass, it's a lot easier for you than it is for me. First of all, you're a woman…"

Cassie shot him a questioning glance and he said, "Okay, there's a lot about being a woman that's unfair, but you still have an advantage over me. Unless you do somethin' really crazy, no one in the mob cares what you do. It's not like that for me. I'm a son of the Don. I have no choice but to be involved in this, Cass. My Dad already hates me. If I were to leave, he'd hunt me down and make me pay. Even if he left me alone, I'd be watched for the rest of my life. Hell, you wanna know where I really got the pendant? I took it as a bribe from a guy I was supposed to kill for desertin'."

"Then Dad, why don't you leave New York and go somewhere else?"

"I'd have to go somewhere far away, Cass, and I could never come back. I mean, where would I go? What would I do?"

"You could go to San Francisco. I've heard that there's a large community of queers over there. You'd fit right in."

"I'd have to change my name."

"How about 'Angel Dust?' It's fittin' for all the drugs you do."

Angel looked at Cassie and smiled. He loved her sense of humor.

"You'd be alone," Angel said. "If they found out you knew anything, you'd be in trouble and I couldn't protect you."

"I'd go to San Francisco with you if it would make you feel better," Cassie said with a smile. "I'd miss Mom and my friends, but I could write them letters and call them when I wanted."

Angel's cigarette was done so he flicked it on the ground and said, "I don't know, babe. That'd be a big change for me."

Cassie's face fell. Angel could never stand seeing her sad.

He walked over to her, gave her a hug, and said, "I'll think about it. Alright?"

Cassie hugged Angel back and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

When she finally let go of him, she said, "Maybe you can go to Alcoholics Anonymous, too. Get help for all your addictions…"

"Let's focus on one problem at a time, babe. Slow down a bit. Will ya? Next thing I know, you'll tell me to go to an asylum for my queerness," he replied.

"Hell, no. Have you ever read the accounts of Nellie Bly? That was a long time ago, but not much has changed since then from what I've been reading. I wouldn't send a rat to one of those places."

"Speaking of queers, wanna go to Greenwich Village for a Halloween party? I told some buddies I'd be there, and I'd hate for that costume you worked so hard on to go to waste."

Cassie smiled playfully and said, "You can't fool me. You just wanna go fishing under the guise of spendin' some time with me."

"Can't I do both?" Angel asked while posing dramatically. "You like the cabarets anyhow, and if I find a date, you can drive yourself home."

"Only you would choose a place where no boy's gonna flirt with me."

"So, you wanna go?"

"Yeah. Just let me change in the car."

As they walked to the car, Angel remarked, "You know. You're remarkably tolerant of hedonism for a good Catholic girl."

"On the list of eight cardinal sins and in Dante's circles of hell, lust and gluttony are at the bottom in terms of seriousness," Cassie replied. "Besides, Jesus ate with the prostitutes and tax collectors, so I do, too."

"Aren't you an enlightened little saint?"

"You're insufferable."

When they reached the car, Cassie changed into her Dracula costume while Angel drove down to his favorite nightclub in Greenwich Village.

He had brought her to these places since she was small enough to sit on the pool tables and push the white ball around whenever he'd play pool with her. Looking back, it was not a responsible thing to do with a little girl, but he was 23 and stupid. Thankfully, the others liked her enough and Angel never got drunk enough to blackout.

The worst thing that ever happened was that Angel got too drunk to drive or even find the car, and Cassie was tired and scared to the point of tears. He ended up sleeping on a bench with her on his chest covered by his coat. God was truly merciful to the stupid.

They arrived at the cabaret where everyone was dressed up in their best costumes, mostly in drag but others in Halloween costumes. The place was crowded with queers from all over New York. It had Halloween decorations all over to dazzle the eyes and loud big band music with a large dance floor to dance on. Angel was home.

Angel talked to Isabella, the club's bisexual bartender, to open a tab for him and his daughter. She and Isabella were good friends, so he knew it was safe to leave them together.

"Alright, bambina," Angel said handing her the keys to his car while clasping the pendant around her neck again to complete her costume. "I'll come by to tell you when I get a date but take the keys in case I forget. You're still too young to drink, but if you do, don't leave the drink out of sight of yourself or Isabella. I know we're at a gay bar, but believe me, some of the lesbians in here are thirsty. And for God's sake, call your mother if you get too drunk to drive or she will murder me slowly. You did tell her you were with me, right?"

"Yes, Dad, you have given me the same spiel every time since I was 13," Cassie said sassily. "Do you think I haven't memorized all this by now?"

"Bambina, I'm your Daddy," Angel said. "I'm always gonna be paranoid when it comes to you. You know that."

"Then why are you leaving me alone in a bar?" Cassie said sarcastically before Angel gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, bambina," Angel said rubbing the top of her head. "Wish me luck. Daddy's going fishing."

"Don't drown," Cassie replied as he walked away much to Isabella's laughter.

"Shut up," Angel said while Cassie and Isabella continued laughing.

"You're such a gas, Cass," Isabella replied.

"Don't encourage her!" Angel yelled over his shoulder.

He could hear the girls laugh out loud while he got ready to mingle. Angel spent most of the night after that drinking and striking out with every man he tried to flirt with while Isabella and Cassie watched and cracked up at his expense in between conversations of their own.

Eventually, Angel sat down in an empty seat next to Cassie, leaned backward from both disappointment and drunkenness, and moaned quietly.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Cassie asked mockingly. "Is the sugar all rationed?"

Angel sat up, turned around, and said, "I just can't figure out what I'm doin' wrong, Cass. I'm doin' everything right. I swear to God. These men aren't really queer. They're all posers just comin' in to laugh at us on Halloween."

"Maybe it just isn't meant to be, Dad," Cassie replied with her unique blend of optimism and sass between sipping her soda. "It could be a sign. Maybe God's killin' your sex appeal to make you start actin' like a married man."

"Nah, that can't be it. First off, your mother and I aren't technically married, so I'm not technically 'adulterous.' Second, if this is a sign of anything, it's that I'm becoming a geezer. I just don't got it in me anymore."

"Dad, you're being overdramatic cuz you're drunk. You're 36."

"I know. I'm ancient. No one wants me. I can't even get anyone to dance with me."

Cassie looked at him thoughtfully and said, "I'll dance with ya, Dad."

"Really? You'll let yourself be seen in public with a cheesy old geezer?" Angel said staring at her pleadingly.

"It's never stopped me before. Has it? Besides," Cassie said before she stood up, took off her cape, and tap-danced in place. "Do you think I brought these shoes just for the aesthetic? Come on."

"Bambina, you make your Daddy so happy," Angel said leaping up joyfully. "You're so good to me in my old age."

"Hey, Isabella," Cassie said leading her Dad to the dance floor. "Could you close the tab? He doesn't need any liquor in his system."

"Hey!" Angel said staggering behind her. "I'm not drunk."

"Do you wanna know how much you've spent already?"

"Alright, fine."

Angel sobered up a little once he started dancing with Cassie. He usually did. Looking back, those were the best times he had with her. It was him who taught her how to swing dance and do every other dance he knew, but she had long since surpassed him. It was all Angel could do to keep up with her now. Of course, he might say it was because he was buzzed but he knew the truth. She was much better than him and he was okay with that. Angel ran out of energy long before Cassie did, but he kept going. He didn't want it to stop, so they kept going until she was finally tired out.

In the present, Angel wondered if he kept going because he somehow had a premonition of what was going to happen next.

At around 2 am when Angel and Cassie were too tired to keep going anymore, Cassie helped her father walk to the car with the intention of driving herself and her father back to the apartment.

Unfortunately for both of them, the car had a flat tire, so Cassie helped her Dad get to a bench and said, "Alright, Dad, I'm gonna call a cab. You have a preference for who I call?"

"Nah, babe, as long as they get us home," Angel said sinking into the bench he was sitting on while she walked over to the pay phone not ten feet away.

Looking back, Angel thought of a million ways this scenario could have gone differently, a million things he could have done instead, but his memories forced him to face the truth.

While Angel was sitting there in his drunken stupor, he heard Cassie call for him once. Then twice. Then finally in a blood-curdling scream that sobered him immediately.

Angel leaped to his feet and heard a loud pop. He saw someone clad in black run away leaving a trail of blood behind him. He saw Cassie lying on the ground of the phone booth struggling to breathe and coughing up blood with a bullet wound in her chest.

"Oh, my God," Angel said as he ran over to her throwing off his coat and suspenders and pulling off his shirt to use as a tourniquet. "CASSIE! Cassie! Cassie! Stay with me, bambina! Please!"

"What the hell is…?!" Isabella yelled running out and seeing Cassie bleeding on the ground. "OH, MY GOD!"

"AMECHE AN AMBULANCE NOW!" Angel yelled at her as he wrapped the shirt around his hand and held it over the wound.

Isabella quickly nodded and ran inside to do what he asked.

"Cassie, can you hear me?" Angel pleaded as climbed in and propped her up on his lap to help her breathe more easily. "If ya do, please say something."

"Dad…" Cassie replied weakly. "I'm sorry…"

"What? What on earth do you have to be sorry for?"

"He wanted the pendant. But I didn't want to give it to him, so I stabbed him with my pocket knife, but he shot me and took it anyway. I hope he's not hurt too bad…"

Angel only noticed then that the necklace was gone. The thief only wanted the necklace he gave her…

"I'm sorry…" Cassie said. "I was stupid…"

"Cass, don't say that," Angel replied unsuccessfully trying to hold back his tears and using one of his hands to stroke her face. "You're not stupid. You're brave. You're so brave. You're the bravest person I've ever known in my life. You had the guts to leave a comfortable, protected life as a gangster's child to live a hard but honorable life as a godly woman. You're so much braver than I'll ever be."

"You can be brave, too…You can do the same thing…"

"No, I can't. I need you, bambina. I can't do it without you. I'm too much of a fucking coward."

"I think you have it in ya…"

Cassie started coughing up blood uncontrollably. Angel sat her up holding her against his chest to help her breathe and begged God to take him instead of her. He wept and rocked back and forth as his white undershirt was covered in blood until the coughing subsided. He felt so completely helpless.

"Dad, it's okay…" Cassie finally said as Angel lowered back down against his chest. "I know where I'm goin' and I pray one day I'll see you there, too…"

"Cassandra Maria di Lucchese, don't say that," Angel pleaded. "You have so much to live for. You have me, your mama, your friends, the church, your career. For God's sake, you want to be a star. You can't leave yet! Please, I'm beggin' you! Don't go! You're the best thing to ever come out of my goddamn life! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Dad…" Cassie replied with her voice getting weaker. "I love everybody…Please tell them that…But it's okay…I'll see them all again, and the way I see it, I still get to dance among the stars with the best audience of all…I'll be okay…"

Cassie looked up and weakly reached up to her Dad's face with her right hand. He held it against his face as he felt her life slipping away.

"Dad…could you sing me out?" Cassie asked more quietly than before. "I'm about to die, so please make it a good one…"

"No," Angel replied. "I'll make it the one you hate the most. That way, you have to wait until I sing something better."

"You're insufferable…" Cassie said with her sassy smile.

Then Angel began singing slowly to her as the tears kept flowing and he looked into her eyes to be sure she got the message, "Just like the magic potion, you fill me with emotion. You control my very soul. You got me voodoo'd. Who knew the goddess Venus would start this love between us? You fill me with desire. You got me voodoo'd. You knew you had power. Pick the hour when the full moon was above. I was hypnotized when I looked in your eyes and my heart was filled with love. Just like the power of Circe, you've got me at your mercy. Always yours to have and hold, you've got me voodoo'd."

Cassie was too weak to hold her hand up anymore, so it slipped down but Angel held it in his hand and squeezed it tightly. There was almost nothing left in her. It was all Angel could do to not lose it completely.

"How was that, bambina?" Angel asked gently.

"That was the best you've ever done…" Cassie replied as she finally slipped away. "Joke's on you, though…I always loved that song…"

Cassie's eyes slid shut and she stopped breathing.

"Cassie?" Angel asked shaking her shoulders. "Cassie?!"

Angel heard Isabella crying outside the phone booth. As the sirens approached, his mind grew quieter. All emotions were silenced except for his grief that overpowered them. Tears flooded out of his eyes as he opened his mouth and wailed out his pain.

The ambulance came and told him what he already knew. She was gone, but reluctantly, he let go of her hand and watched them take her body anyway.

It was then that he noticed the trail of blood left behind by his daughter's killer. Temporarily, another emotion possessed him: pure, unadulterated rage.

Angel stood up, put on the coat he had thrown on the ground, and pulled his handgun out of his pocket.

Isabella saw him and only said, "Put a good shot in for me."

Angel turned around, nodded, and followed the blood trail. It led to a small warehouse down the road. He didn't think. He didn't need to. He was guided by his own criminal instincts and the rage that sharpened them.

When Angel arrived, he opened the door and looked around until he saw the bastard with his shoulder being bandaged in the corner. He was holding the ruby pendant in his hand, but he had the audacity to ask Angel what his problem was.

Angel pointed the gun at his head and said with unbridled fury behind his voice, "THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM THE LUCCHESE FAMILY, YOU SON OF A BITCH! SPECIFICALLY, MY LATE DAUGHTER WHO YOU JUST KILLED, CASSANDRA MARIA DI LUCCHESE!"

Angel didn't just shoot him in the head. He emptied his magazine on him. Then when he saw Cassie's knife sitting on the table, Angel used it to stab him repeatedly until he was soaked in his blood and the corpse was almost unrecognizable.

When his rage was satisfied, he grabbed the pendant out of his hand, stuffed it in his pocket, and walked away. No one dared to approach him. Angel then ran to his car to go to the hospital where his daughter was.

Angel wished he could say he changed for Cassie after that, but he didn't have the strength. He lost his mind. After the funeral, he locked himself in his apartment with his drugs and liquor and refused to open the door for anyone, not even his sister Molly.

He only opened the door when Maggie came by one night. When she entered with luggage, food, and more liquor, she said nothing, but she opened her alcohol and gave him some as well.

Her only words were, "I know you're the one who killed our baby's murderer. Thank you."

She then sat down next to him and started chugging her liquor next to him. Very quickly, she was binging and crying along with him, and they talked more than they had in years. He appreciated his friend's presence. She was the only one who understood how he felt. And she didn't leave until the day he died.

Together, they went on a path of mutual self-destruction. They left their respective jobs and became full-time junkies. They lived together and even slept in the same bed, which ironically made them more of a husband and wife than when Cassie was alive. Together, they drank. Together, they used. Together, they became prostitutes when their families cut them off, so they could buy more drugs. Together, they tried any new thing they could to numb the pain just a little bit more and make their lives more bearable, whether that was substance abuse, sex, or anything else that caused trouble.

They grew very close over the next year. It made sense because very soon all they had was each other. Angel and Maggie pushed everyone else away. They lived in an isolated wonderland of hedonism all their own. They had so much fun that it drowned out the misery their hearts were feeling. Despite what it brought on them, they were happy together, and the way Angel saw it, he was in some way doing what Cassie had wanted.

Then came the day Angel died. It was Halloween. He woke up early in the morning from another nightmare, but his partner-in-crime wasn't there. He got up to look for her, and all he found was a note she left.

Maggie said that she was tired of the empty life she was living and the pain her addictions could never cure. She had left to check herself into the rehab facility her church sponsored and begged Angel to come with her to receive the help he needed.

Angel crumpled the note in his hand and tossed it aside in anger. His only friend had abandoned him, and he was by himself again. Angel sat down and wept quietly for a while until he remembered the stash of PCP they had bought the night before.

Angel dumped out her share and his share for himself. He inhaled all of it until it was gone.

Not too long after, he fell on the floor convulsing uncontrollably. He tried to call for help, but his voice was gone. His vision began fading, and his mind began to create more hallucinations. He could have sworn that he saw his little girl looking as she was on that fateful day a year before begging him to change. She was beautiful. He tried to reach for her, but his body wouldn't cooperate, and she disappeared.

The last thought Angel remembered thinking before he died was, "I'm sorry, bambina…"

When the Grim Reaper took Angel's soul to Judgement, he accepted it without complaint. When God gave his judgment, he listened quietly and unapologetically, but somehow, he could feel from the love and sadness emanating from him that he understood how he felt.

The only thing Angel said before he was sent to hell was, "Thank you for looking after Cassie. I know you're a trillion times the father to her that I ever was."

When he was taken away, Angel could somehow still feel Cassie's tears falling.

From then on in hell, Angel lived as he wanted. He took the name "Angel Dust" from Cassie's joke, made a name for himself in the adult porn industry, and stayed away from the mob when his relatives finally did descend. He was no saint, but he figured that his actions would make Cassie a little bit happier.

As time wore on, he didn't forget, but the pain became easier to bear as he lived his new life and made new friends. He was slightly disappointed when Maggie didn't come to join him when she died but only slightly. After all, he couldn't blame her for wanting to avoid hell.

Life was still miserable, but the drugs, sex, and bad friends made it tolerable.

Back in the present, Angel was finally standing in front of the Happy Hotel. He didn't know what redemption would take or how hard it would be. He didn't even know if he could do it, but for the first time in forever, his heart felt hopeful. That hope reminded him of Cassie, and even if that was the only result from it, it was still worth investing his time in, especially if it meant he could finally see his daughter as the man she always believed he could be.


	2. Chapter 2

So, you wanna know about my old man?

He was an unbelievable piece of work.

He was many things. Violent. Addicted. Deviant.

But he was also my Dad.

It's strange so many things can exist in one man.

Looking back, our family was strange.

He and my mother weren't technically married.

They just said they were, so Mom would legally have his money and I wouldn't be considered a bastard.

They didn't even live together for the most part.

It was all a surprise for him.

They said he didn't want me at first, but then he saw me and fell in love.

I never doubted he loved me, but sometimes, he had a funny way of showing it.

He was young. Maybe that's why he was so irresponsible.

One of my earliest memories is sitting on a pool table and rolling the white ball while he would hit it with the stick.

Then later that night when we slept on the bench because he was too drunk to find the car.

I remember I was cryin' and scared standin' out there on that cool night.

He was just lyin' there on the bench and he told me to climb on his lap.

When I did, he covered me with his coat and held me against his chest.

He told me that he wouldn't let nothin' harm me, that as long as I laid there, I would be safe.

Then he gave me a kiss and rubbed my back, and eventually, I fell asleep on top of him.

It was easy.

With him there, I felt warm and safe and loved. I had all I needed.

The next thing I remember is waking up in my bed the next mornin' and seeing him asleep next to me.

He came through for me. He always tried to anyway.

We were so close. He had so much in common.

It was easy.

Then when I got older and grew more aware and faithful, it got complicated.

I realized what he was. And what I was.

I was part of a family of criminals.

It was so horrible. I couldn't take it.

Mom and I wanted to be good and have no part in it, so we decided to support ourselves.

It hurt my Dad, but it wasn't personal.

I mean. It was his family, not him.

We started fighting, but we were still close.

That's probably why it hurt so much.

I still found it hard to believe that he was one of them.

He hardly acted like it around me.

Except when he started using it to help me and I got mad at him for it.

Even then, I could tell he hated it.

He talked about it all the time when he was under the influence.

Men talk more when their inhibitions are gone.

In the end, he admitted I was right and said he'd think about change.

But in the end, it did no good.

I was killed right in front of him.

It broke him completely and almost took my mother, too.

Now, I know where he is and had accepted that we would never be together.

I still love my forever home and have all the family and love that a girl could ever want, but I still feel his absence.

I hear that a rehab has opened down there for demons like him.

I feel hopeful, but I know what kind of person he has become.

He's taken the name, Angel Dust, for his drug of choice.

He's sent many souls to the fiery pit.

Nonetheless, if he's listenin' and somehow can hear me, I have a message for him.

Tell him, as much of a bastard he was and still is, as much pain as he caused, as much as his words still bring me to tears, I love him…

And I miss him.


	3. Chapter 3

In the fall of 1935, then 24-year-old Angel was taking care of his then 5-year-old daughter one night while his "wife" was out on a date. Cassie was in bed while Angel was reading her some…alternative…bedtime stories to help her fall asleep.

"'Jesus, Christian! I never read about nipple clamps in the Bible!'" Angel read.

"Daddy, you've read that part five times already," Cassie complained.

"I'm sorry, Cass," Angel said trying to suppress his arousal. "It's just such a good part."

"What are nipple clamps anyway?" Cassie asked inquisitively.

"Moving on," Angel said quickly trying to avoid the question. "Where were we? Here, we go. He thinks about it coyly. His desire acute. Liquid and smoldering combustion in my belly. I take preemptive action and launch myself at him. Somehow, he moves. I don't know how. In the blink of an eye, I'm on the bed. My arms stretched out. My hair above my head. His mouth finding mine. His tongue is in my mouth…"

"Ewww!" Cassie said grimacing in disgust. "That is so gross!"

"You'll understand when you're older," Angel said again trying his best to hide his arousal and his boner. "Are you bored enough to fall asleep yet?"

"No," Cassie complained. "I'm just bored."

"I hear ya, kid. What do you think we should do about it?"

"I don't know…Hey! I have an idea. I'm good at reading now. Maybe I can read the book to you," Cassie said crawling over and trying to snatch the book from Angel.

"Bambina, you don't need to read this," Angel said nervously holding the book out of her reach, so she wouldn't read any of its contents that he hadn't "filtered." "Maybe we can read something else…"

"But that's the book you like," Cassie said before launching herself on top of him so quickly that he fell off his stool and onto the floor next to the bed. "I wanna read to you and make you fall asleep."

"Cassie, stop it! You don't need to do that," Angel said pulling her down by her foot as she got up and tried to run for the book. "I'm not tired, and besides, this book is for grownups."

"But you were reading it to me," Cassie protested as Angel quickly stood up, placed her on the bed, and placed the book on top of the bookshelf.

"I was hoping the book would bore you to sleep," Angel said.

"But it wasn't boring to you, so it's not boring to me either," Cassie said sassily. "Why won't you let me read it?"

"Because, small fry, you're on the floor, the book is on top of the shelf, and you're too short to reach it," Angel said sassily in return.

"Wanna bet?" Cassie asked back as she hopped out of the bed.

"Unless you can grow 3 more feet in the next minute, you ain't gettin' it, squirt," Angel teased while looking at his watch.

"I don't need to grow. I can climb!"

"Cass, what are you talkin' ab-…Cassie!"

Angel just managed to pull Cassie off the bookshelf she was trying to climb before it toppled over from bearing her weight.

He held her in his arms and hyperventilated for a moment while trying to catch his breath.

"Dad, are you okay?" Cassie asked sitting there in confusion.

"No," Angel said holding her up, so their eyes met. "That was stupid! Why would you think climbing on a bookshelf was a good idea? You could have been really hurt! You don't do stuff like that! Understand?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm sorry."

He hugged her close again while looking at his watch.

"Oh, shit," Angel said out loud.

"What's wrong now, Dad?" Cassie asked.

"I have to meet someone to pick up something," Angel said carrying her to the living room and getting her socks and shoes on. "You're not tired, so you're coming with me. Capiche?"

"Yeah!" Cassie squealed running for her coat.

She always loved going with her Dad on his late-night errands.

Soon, the pair were out on the street walking towards Angel's previously designated meeting spot. Whenever he planned on watching her at her mom's place, he always made sure to make the meeting spots a safe distance away in case anything went wrong.

Cassie held his hand and looked around happily. She was too young to see the misery and sin for what it was. For now, she still looked around at everything like it was the first time with complete innocence. Angel hoped the day she lost her innocence would never come.

After traveling several blocks, Angel found his dealer, Murphy, waiting near the park.

"Angel?" the red-head in shabby clothes asked his customer. "Why is your kid here? Again?"

"I've told ya. I'm not gonna leave her by herself," Angel said rubbing her head as she let go of his hand and looked around the sidewalk as was her habit while these deals went on. "Not while she's awake and I have errands to run. Besides, we do stuff like this all the time, and she's fine with it. Anyways, what do you have for me tonight?

"Well, I've got the purest strain of PCP you've ever had," Murphy replied.

"Really now? You're peaking my interest…" Angel replied before he was interrupted by his daughter pulling on his coat.

"Dad, I really need you to give me a dollar," Cassie begged. "Please!"

"In a minute, Cass," Angel replied rubbing her head. "How pure are we talking?"

While Angel tried to carry on his conversation, Cassie stood there pulling on his coat and calling his name over and over.

"Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad," Cassie repeated over and over while tugging on his coat.

Finally, Angel had had enough.

"Cassie, lay off! Will ya?" Angel finally replied.

"I need a dollar," Cassie whined. "I need it really bad."

Angel rolled his eyes, pulled out his wallet, and handed her a dollar bill.

"Buy what you want and get your ass back here immediately," Angel said. "Ya hear me?"

Cassie snatched the dollar bill and said, "Thanks, Dad!" before running down the street.

Angel sighed in annoyance and continued his transaction with Murphy. When he was done, he noticed that Cassie hadn't come back yet.

His heart immediately sank in panic. Angel ran down the street to find her and found her sitting in front of a homeless man playing his guitar.

He sighed in relief as he scooped her up in his arms and said, "Cassie, how many times do I have to tell you to listen to what I say?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she replied. "I was just listening to Mr. Albert's music. He's playing for me since I gave him a dollar."

"Why'd you give him your dollar?" Angel asked curiously.

"His sign said he needed one," Cassie said pointing to his cardboard sign that said, "Even a dollar would help."

Angel stood there in dumbfounded admiration for a moment. He didn't even notice the guy before, but Cassie had gone out of her way to make him happy. He smiled.

"God bless you both," the homeless man said before Angel nodded to him and he walked away with her in his arms.

"You did good, Cass," Angel said giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Cassie said happily. "I told you I could read."


	4. Chapter 4

Back when he was alive in 1934, Cassie fell asleep in Angel's arms as he walked back to her and her Mom's apartment. He pulled off her coat and her shoes and socks and tucked the sleeping five-year-old back into bed.

As soon as he quietly managed to put the bookshelf back up and put the books back on it, Angel shut the door to Cassie's room, walked into the living room, turned the radio on, laid down on the couch, and went back to reading the porn book he was reading Cassie.

However, it wasn't long before his silence was interrupted. His "wife" Maggie unlocked the door and stomped in carrying her coat in one hand and her purse in the other. Her brown hair was bobbed, and her dress was a black one that she and Angel picked out together. He thought it went well with her dark brown eyes.

"It's 1934," Maggie muttered under her breath while kicking off her heels. "Women can vote. We shouldn't have to wear heels anymore."

"Hey, hon," Angel said without looking up from the book he was reading. "How was the date? Can we get 'divorced' yet?"

"Angelo, babe, that was the worst experience of my life," Maggie whined while sitting her smaller frame on top of his legs and leaning back against the couch. "I swear to God. I may only be 22, but I'm never dating again."

"Oh, my God, sister," Angel said sitting up and placing his book on the floor. "Tell me everything."

"Everything was fine at first," Maggie said falling on top of Angel's chest. "I met Joe in front of the bar. He was lookin' so smooth and fine. We go inside and start talkin' and I think everything's goin' alright. But then I ask if we can go dancin', and you know what he says, Angel?"

"What?"

"He says no because 'he doesn't like the music.'"

"Ugh. What an ickie!"

"I know. I should've have taken it as a sign. It all went downhill from there. I make him go anyway and he's a regular dead hoofer. He must've stepped on my feet about 30 times in one song. That must be why my feet are so sore."

"That sounds horrible," Angel said. "You want me to rub your feet for ya?"

"Oh, my God," Maggie said sitting up, scooting over to the other end of the couch, and putting her feet in his lap. "You're so sweet. I should have left him after that. I mean, he didn't even apologize for it. But genius that I am, I thought he just needed a change of venue, so I suggested we go get dinner somewhere. We go to Fragole's for the discount, but once we sit down, he just started going on and on like a regular Abercrombie. I thought I was goin' to lose my mind. He would not shut up the whole damn time. I didn't even get a chance to speak."

"God…" Angel said while rubbing her feet. "I hate it when men do that. It's obnoxious."

"Tell me about it," Maggie replied. "So, I'm ready to scram as soon as he pays the bill, right? But he asks to drive me home, so I get into his car with him. He starts driving and the whole time I am praying that all the lights are green, so I can get back faster because he's still going on and on. We get close and he pulls off into the alley right next to the building. He asks how I live somewhere so ritzy on only a secretary's salary, so I tell him I have a rich daddy hoping to get him off me. But instead, he starts getting friendlier if you know what I mean…"

"What's the story, morning glory?" Angel said suggestively.

"Jesus, Angel, you're incorrigible," Maggie replied with a sarcastic glance. "I ask him if he has a condom, and he says yes. I'm hoping to get somethin' good out of this experience if you know what I mean, so I say yes. But..."

"Do tell."

"It was awful."

"How bad was it?"

"Let me put it this way. You're a queer, and you did me better. He didn't even know where to put it."

Angel quietly cackled for about a minute. He kept the volume low for Cassie to sleep but loud enough to make Maggie laugh, too.

"Oh, my God," Angel said. "He must have been a virgin. That is hysterical."

"It was so awkward," Maggie said once she finally stopped laughing. "After about five painful minutes of woo making, I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled on my underwear and told him that I was a gangster's moll. He practically pushed me out of the car. I barely had time to grab my purse and my coat. I swear. That is the last time I go on a date with anyone from work."

"At least, you got a few laughs out of it," Angel said pulling out his flask. "You want some, Mag?"

Maggie grabbed his flask and took a large gulp before handing it back to Angel.

"Jesus, Mag," Angel said shaking his flask's near-empty contents. "I said you could drink some, not the whole damn thing."

"I'll refill your booze," Maggie said before continuing. "Calm down."

Maggie laid down on the couch and said, "Maybe this is a sign from God, Angel. Maybe I should stop working and live like an honest woman…"

Angel laid back and said, "It was one bad date, Mag. Don't start talkin' crazy. There are plenty of men who'll have ya."

"Don't say it like that," Maggie said as she stood up and walked to the bathroom to wash off the makeup. "You make me sound like a piece of meat. Just like in Brave New World."

"Christ, I never should have recommended that book to ya," Angel replied. "Now, you're paranoid about everything."

"No, I'm just wise now," Maggie said pulling out a washcloth, turning the water in the sink on, lathering the cloth with soap, and washing her face. "I can see how that world can happen, and people like you and me, we have to work to stop it. I'm not having a world where 'everyone belongs to everybody else' and must have sex with everyone, being a mother is the most disgusting thing you can do, free thought is banned, people are cloned, and everyone's mind is controlled with drugs. I ain't lettin' that happen. I won't let the world come to that. Why do you think I taught Cassie how to read? I don't want her becoming like the willfully ignorant hordes…"

"Alright, Mag," Angel said rolling his eyes. "I get it."

"Then turn off the radio," Maggie said as she rinsed her face off and dried it off with a towel. "I don't want the government putting messages in my head or in Cassie's head. Are ya sleepin' over?"

"Yeah," Angel said turning off the radio. "It's late. I might as well. Besides, I already went out tonight."

"Oh, yeah? Where'd you go?"

"To buy some drugs from the dealer."

"Was Cassie with you?"

"Yeah, she didn't fall asleep, so I took her with me."

"Good. I hate it when she's left alone."

"You wanna know what she did while we were out?"

"What?"

"She gave a dollar to a homeless man just because his sign said he needed one. I told her I was proud of her. God, she's such a little saint. We don't deserve her."

"She makes me proud, too. She's so sweet."

"She is. Tomorrow, we should take her somewhere fun."

"Agreed," Maggie said finally emerging from the bathroom with a yawn. "I think I'm goin' to bed. You wanna come?"

"Maggie, we've been over this," Angel said. "I love ya, but I ain't doin' ya no more. Sheesh! I know your date went bad but come on. You know I'm not into dolls…"

"Not for that, wise guy," Maggie said gesturing to the book on the floor. "I want to read that book you were lookin' at. You willin' to share? We can take turns readin' it. Maybe it'll make us each have amazing dream encounters."

"Sister, that is the best idea you've had all night," Angel said picking up the book from the floor and following Maggie into her room.


	5. Chapter 5

Being tired from a day of mob work, Angel fell asleep on the bed next to his "wife" while they were taking terms reading from his porn novel. He eventually woke up when he felt a smaller body on top of his.

Angel opened his eyes and smiled. Cassie was sleeping on her side on top of his torso. She probably had a nightmare and didn't want to wake him up even though she knew he didn't mind. He placed her on the bed next to him, stood up, covered her with the bed's blankets, stripped down to his underclothes, climbed back into bed next to her, and placed her back on top of his skinny torso.

"You're getting under the covers," Maggie said rolling over in surprise. "You haven't done that since she was conceived."

"Can't leave my bambina cold and defenseless," Angel said rubbing his little girl's back. "If that means acting straight for a night, I'll do it."

"How come when you're here she only wants your attention?"

"Not getting jealous, are ya? You get to be with her all the time."

"True. You do also spoil her."

"I can't help it. She's too cute to say no to. Besides, she's a good kid."

Maggie sighed and said, "It's just as well. The first man a girl falls in love with is her daddy. Are you gonna let her sleep on top of you all night like that?"

"Of course," Angel replied while stroking Cassie's back. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You're a sweet Daddy, Angel."

"You don't know how happy it makes me to hear ya say that, Mag. When it comes to parenting, I'm no genius, but I'm trying to be better to her than my father ever was to me. I don't want her to ever be afraid of the person she's supposed to trust the most. I don't want her to ever understand what that feels like."

"I'd say you're succeeding," Maggie said rolling back over to go to sleep.

"Thanks," Angel said thoughtfully looking back at Cassie breathing deeply while his own chest moved up and down. "Hey, Maggie?"

"Yeah?" Maggie asked without rolling over.

Angel settled into bed and said, "I'm fine with you finding a new beau to replace me, but I have only one condition. He has to be good to Cassie and to you. If I see a single bruise on her or if she complains about him even once, so help me, God. I will pump him so full of lead that he'll sink when I stash his body in the harbor."

Maggie laughed quietly and said, "If anyone ever hurt her, I would help you."


	6. Chapter 6

Angel Dust could easily name the worst day of his life before the one that destroyed his heart. It was ironically the day he found out Cassie existed.

His restored memories allowed him to remember that day perfectly. It was October 1928. Angel was only 18, but he had already found his own apartment where he could be apart from his father and his obnoxious older brother.

He went straight there after a particularly grueling family meeting. As was his habit once he set foot in the door, Angel lit a cigarette and sat down on the couch with his mail. After sorting through some bills and advertisements, he found something that made him smile. It was a letter from Maggie.

They had been in the habit of corresponding through letters since most days she was too busy with school to talk on the phone. Angel opened the letter and read its contents.

As he read its contents, Angel's eyes grew larger and his mouth dropped open. He didn't even notice when the cigarette fell on the floor and fizzled out.

In his shock, Angel grabbed his coat, bolted out the door, and drove straight to Maggie's house.

When he got there, he entered through the back lot and opened her back door to find Maggie eating a sandwich at a small table in her kitchen.

Out of breath, Angel said, "Maggie…I got your letter…Is it true? Are you really…?"

Maggie's lips curled into a sad smile as she stood up from her chair and turned sideways. Her belly was poking out underneath her purple dress. She was pregnant.

Angel almost fainted where he stood. Maggie helped him to a chair and tried to get him a glass of water, but he stopped her.

"Don't, Mag," Angel said standing up and gesturing for her to get back in her seat. "You're carrying a baby. You don't have to wait on me."

"Thanks," Maggie said. "This extra weight is killing my feet."

Angel grabbed a glass from her cupboard, filled it up with water from the sink, and chugged that glass as quickly as he could. After placing the glass in the sink, he sat down at the table in the other chair while Maggie continued to eat her sandwich.

"Maggie, I really hate to ask, but are you sure it's mine?" Angel asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Yes," Maggie replied. "I haven't slept with anyone since then. Besides, you were my first."

"Really? So, you mean for all that flirting you did in school, you never actually got any guy to…?"

"Nope, you took my virginity. I didn't tell you that cuz I didn't wanna make you nervous."

"And here I took ya for a baby vamp," Angel said smiling briefly before his face sank again. "Oh, my God…Mag, how long have you known?"

"I found out about a week ago," Maggie said as her brown eyes stared at the food in front of her. "I mean, I had noticed that I wasn't bleeding as much and that I'd been gaining weight, but I didn't think anything of it until I started upchucking in the john every morning. Last week, I finally went to see the doctor and he told me that I'm over four months pregnant…"

"Jesus Christ…"

"I did ask him about an abortion. He said that officially such a thing is forbidden, but unofficially, it's too late. It's alright, though. I'm Catholic. I don't believe in abortion anyway. Besides, I've started warming up to the idea of being a mom…"

Maggie looked up to see that Angel was resting his head on the table on top of his arms and not responding.

"Angel, I'm so sorry…" Maggie started to say.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Angel interrupted. "Your body is just doing what God intended. I'm the stupid fag who didn't use a condom and got ya knocked up."

Maggie sat back in her chair and said nervously, "Angel, I really hate to ask this cuz I know you ain't the type to get insured, especially not to a girl, but I need some help here. I'm scared. Mom's still workin' as a nurse, and Daddy still works at that bank. They know, and they've told me I don't need to worry about nothin', but I know that's a lot of bushwa. Money's been tight lately, and the baby will make it harder. I've been asked to leave school since I'm showing, and I can't go out again until after the baby's born. I don't know what I'm gonna do once the kid gets here. I've thought about moving away eventually to make things easier on my family, but I can't do anything without cash. Look, I don't wanna be a burden or nothin', but I need some help here…"

"Say no more," Angel replied with a sigh. "This happened because I needed you to help me discover myself. I'll help ya out."

"Thanks, Angel, you're a real pal," Maggie said biting into her sandwich in relief. "Just let me do some calculating and I'll find out how much we need a month to support the baby. I'll get back to work as soon as I can, so you don't have to keep bearin' the burden by yourself. Oh, my folks will be so happy. Hey! Where are ya goin'?"

Angel had gotten up from his chair and opened the door heading to the rest of the house. He knew what he had to do, and it hurt like hell.

"Angel?" Maggie asked again.

"I'm goin' to call my Dad, Maggie," Angel said with pain behind his voice. "I'll tell him we're married so our family will support ya."

"What?!" Maggie yelled as her pupils dilated in terror. "Why?! Angel, you can't! You told me your Dad was…"

"A horrible and evil man?" Angel said turning back and lingering by the door. "Yes, he is, but what choice do we have? Neither of us has money on our own. He'd find out about you and our child eventually. It's better that I tell him now and get it over with. Besides, we both know how the world is going to treat you if you remain an unwed mother. At least, this way, you'd be taken care of. After all, you could be carrying his heir."

"Angel, you don't have to do this," Maggie said getting up on her feet and walking over to him as quickly as her swelling feet would allow. "You don't love me, and I don't love you. You don't need to lie to them. Forget about it. We'll do somethin' else. I don't want the mob involved…"

"Maggie, the mob got involved as soon as the kid was conceived," Angel said in resignation. "There's no way around it. We can't keep this a secret. If I start wiring money to you often enough, my Dad will start asking questions. And if I don't tell him, someone else will. Hell, depending on who else you've told, he might already know."

"But how?"

"He's the Don, Mag. He has sources everywhere. If he hasn't, it's best if he hears it from me and if I tell him we've taken care of it already. I'm sorry."

Maggie's face sank as she sat back down and tried unsuccessfully to conceal a few tears.

Angel reluctantly went to her living room, picked up the phone, and told the operator to call his Dad. He felt his stomach turn.

Fortunately, Maggie came in and sat next to him on her couch for emotional support.

Unfortunately, Angel's brother answered the phone first.

"Hey! Who is this?" he asked.

"Eric, it's me," Angel said tersely. "Give the phone to Dad."

"What for?"

"That's none of your beeswax, Eric. I need to talk to Dad."

"What did you do? Did you fuck up and get arrested again?"

"Like you're one to talk. Look, could you stop futzing around and just get Dad please?"

"Hold on. Dad, it's Angelo…"

Angel heard his father's voice on the other line. Maggie gripped her hand in his while he told his Dad what had happened. The conversation was brief. His Dad was shocked and upset, as expected. Oddly enough, he wasn't that angry when Angel said he wanted to support Maggie, but he acted oddly suspicious when he said that they had eloped already. He wanted to see them both.

A few hours later, Angel and Maggie pulled up to his father's house. They both got out of the car and stared for at the building for a while. He knew he was in for something terrible. She knew all the horror stories he told her and every story she had ever read about the mob and quaked in fear while holding onto his arm.

"Maggie, are you alright?" Angel asked. "You're kinda cutting the blood pressure to my arm here."

"I can't do this," Maggie said in a panic. "Talkin' to you is one thing, but I'm talkin' to Don Lucchese. He could kill me if I do anything wrong."

"Welcome to my world," Angel said with a sad smile.

Maggie kept shaking and started breathing hard, so Angel tried to swallow his own fear and took her arm in his.

"Hey," Angel said trying to sound as confident as he could. "We'll be okay. We just have to pretend we're married. That shouldn't be too hard. Just let me do the talking, and if that doesn't work, at least, we go down together."

Angel was never that good at being comforting. Maggie was on the verge of hyperventilating, so he hugged her sideways until she started breathing normally.

When she started to calm down, Angel's green eyes locked with her brown eyes as he said, "I swear to God I won't let either of them hurt you. Okay?"

Maggie smiled, nodded, stood up, and gasped in surprise.

"What's the matter?" Angel asked.

"Angel, the baby just kicked," Maggie said. "He's never done that before."

"Really?" Angel asked putting his hand on her belly until he felt the kick. "Oh, my God. I feel 'em. Dammit, he's still goin'. He could be a fighter."

"Or, she could be a dancer…" Maggie said before they both heard Angel's brother talking.

"How much longer do you plan on keeping us waitin', little brother?" they both heard Angel's brother say.

Angel and Maggie looked up to see Eric posed against the open door. He looked like Angel, but his eyes were icy blue and crueler, and his clothes were black and white and not as colorful as Angel's were.

"What the hell are ya doin' anyway?" Eric asked spitefully.

Angel smirked, squatted on the ground, rubbed Maggie's abdomen, and said, "Not much. I was just thinkin' about givin' my new wife a hand job on the sidewalk in front of all your neighbors. I know how little action you get, so you can watch if ya pay me."

Eric's face contorted in disgust while Maggie snickered quietly.

"So, that's the girl?" Eric asked without moving from the door. "She's just a kid."

"She's my wife," Angel said in annoyance. "And her name is Margaret. You ought to treat her with respect."

"She's far too cute for ya," Eric said spitefully. "How much are you paying her to be seen with you, Ethel?"

"Up yours," Angel retorted standing up and wrapping his arm around Maggie's shoulder. "Where's Dad? He's the one who wanted to see us."

"Inside his office," Eric said as Angel took Maggie's arm and they walked up the stairs onto the front porch and into the house. "Let me take her coat."

Maggie looked at Angel who nodded to show it was okay, and she let Eric take her worn coat and looked around the ornately-decorated home Angel had told her so much about.

While Angel took off his coat, Eric slowly hung Maggie's coat on the rack while staring her down mercilessly. Angel knew what he was doing. Eric was studying her and sizing her up. He always did the same thing whenever he met someone new. It was usually just annoying, but now that it was being used on his best friend, it was infuriating.

"Take a picture," Angel said throwing his coat on Eric's head and walking over to where Maggie was. "It'll last longer. Alright, hon. Let's get this over with."

Eric tossed the coat on the floor, walked past them into the office down the hall, and said, "I'll just let Dad know you're here."

Maggie and Angel finally let themselves breathe once he was gone. Angel immediately noticed that Maggie was shaking.

Angel rested his hand on her shoulder and said, "You're doin' really well, Mag. Don't worry. We just have to talk to my Dad, pretend we're married for about ten more minutes, and then we can leave and get you something you want. Just remember. Let me do all the talking."

Maggie turned to him with a sad smile and said, "You have a really nice house. It's so big and beautiful. It's hard to believe that you had such a miserable life here. I suppose it's like what Jesus said about the white-washed tombs."

"That's one word for it," Angel said lighting a cigarette.

"Angel, will our baby grow up like that?" Maggie asked turning around to face him. "How involved do you think your family's goin' to be? Because if the baby's goin' to have to endure that, I feel like I should attempt an abortion."

Angel paused while puffing on his cigarette. That was a question he was afraid to answer.

Nevertheless, Angel pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and said, "From my experience, it depends on what the baby's gender is. If he's a boy, my Dad's gonna try to groom him into the next Don. But if she's a girl, I imagine he'll just throw money at her and ignore her like my poor sister Molly. Women don't work for the mob, so he doesn't have much use for them. Wish I could give you better news. If he's a boy, I hope to God he isn't a fag like me or his life is gonna be hell. Lord knows I've had a hard enough time hidin' it from my family. I don't wanna know what they'd do to him…"

Maggie snatched the cigarette from Angel's hand and started puffing on it herself.

"I'm sorry, Mag," Angel said sadly. "I've screwed you in more ways than one…"

"It does no good to cry about it now," Maggie said handing him back the cigarette. "We'll have plenty of time for that later. Let's just focus on getting out of here alive. But if we make it, you owe me a real handjob and a night on the town."

Angel chuckled quietly under his breath and said, "Mag, if we make it out alive, I'll treat you like a goddamn queen."

Eric finally shouted down the hall, "You lovebirds can come in now!"

"Finally," Angel said snuffing out his cigarette on an ashtray and taking Maggie's arm again. "Buck up, sister. Here, we go. Whatever you do, don't let him see you scared and don't let him see you cry."

The two of them walked down the hall into Don Lucchese's office at the end of the hall. It was a luxurious office complete with paintings, a fireplace, bookshelves, a large desk, large office chairs, and the whole shebang.

Angel hated that place, and he hated the brawny, 42-year-old sitting smugly in his red leather chair even more. Don Lucchese stared at Maggie and her growing belly with sick delight while Eric gloated from his spot leaning against the wall next to the desk.

Maggie looked away and fidgeted uncomfortably while Angel wrapped his arm around her shoulder to try to calm her down. It was all he could do to hide his disgust.

"You wanted to see us, Dad?" Angel asked to get his attention off Maggie.

"Of course," Don Lucchese said reaching his open hand out towards Maggie. "Why wouldn't I want to meet my daughter-in-law? What's your name, dear?"

"Margaret Walters," Maggie replied cautiously handing him her hand.

Once the Don had kissed her hand, he let go of her hand and said gently, "Sit down, Margaret. You look exhausted. You too, Angelo."

The pair looked at each other and quickly sat down in the chairs in front of the desk.

Angel placed his hand on top of hers and said, "We eloped this afternoon. I'm gonna find her a nice place to stay and look after her and the baby, with your blessing, of course."

"Of course," Don Lucchese said. "But I have a condition of my own."

Angel felt his heart drop and Maggie grip his hand more tightly, but he maintained his composure.

"What kind of condition, Dad?" Angel asked.

"Well, you actually have to get married," Don Lucchese started.

"Dad, what are you talking about? We are already married."

"Then how come none of my sources in the judiciary office saw you two come by?"

Angel was stunned into silence, so Maggie blurted out, "It's a common law marriage."

"Maggie!" Angel chided.

Don Lucchese chuckled under his breath and said, "Can't say I'm not disappointed. I've come to expect this from you by now, Angelo, but this time, I'm not letting you futz it up for the rest of us. After all, you may have sired my next heir. That's something your brother can't even do."

Eric averted his gaze to hide his shame. That movement wasn't lost on Angel, but he felt no sympathy.

"The family won't accept an illegitimate child as my heir," Don Lucchese continued. "So, you two have to get married…"

"A common law marriage is as good as any," Angel said crossing his arms in annoyance. "Why do ya care?"

"To my colleagues, it's the same as living in sin," Don Lucchese replied. "Why did you lie to me about eloping in the first place? Are you hiding something, Angelo?"

"It's my fault," Maggie interrupted.

"Maggie…" Angel tried to chide.

"That's what he's tryin' to hide," Maggie lied. "I'm a working girl and I've been working for a while because I wanted to save up for a proper wedding, but today, I was asked to leave and don't have enough funds for it. Don't be hard on Angel. He wanted to just elope. I was the stubborn one who wouldn't listen. He was just tryin' to save me the embarrassment. Lyin' about it was my idea. I didn't think you'd face us if we weren't already married."

Angel pleaded at her with his eyes, and she glared back.

Don Lucchese didn't say anything, but he reached into his desk and pulled out an official-looking document. Angel and Maggie looked at it more closely and realized that it was a marriage license.

"If that's the case, dear, why don't you two just sign this certificate?" Don Lucchese asked. "I had a judge sign it earlier, so all you two have to do is sign it and you will be considered married."

Angel and Maggie looked at each other again before Maggie said, "If it isn't too much, I'd still like a wedding…"

"That's why we were asking for money," Angel interrupted. "I want to have a small wedding with her."

Don Lucchese didn't answer, so Eric answered for him, "Alright…Do what you want then…"

"Oh," Maggie said overdramatically moaning and rising from her seat. "I feel so ill. We'd better go home."

"Oh, yeah," Angel said catching onto her cue and walking with her towards the door. "Just put the check in the mail. I'd better get her home. We'll show ourselves out."

Angel wrapped his arm around Maggie to support her and whispered, "Maggie, baby, you were brilliant…"

Maggie smiled at him before Eric slid in front of the office door they were about to exit.

"What's eating you?" Angel asked.

"Are you sure you don't want to just sign that document, Angelo?" Eric asked.

"Of course, I'm sure," Angel said in annoyance. "My future wife wants a wedding, so that's what I'm gonna give her. Could you get out of our way now?"

"Are you sure that's the reason, little brother?" Eric asked cruelly glaring through them while raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's not just because you don't like skirts?"

Angel felt his heart stop in terror but tried to hold his composure as he said, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about…"

"Yes, you do," Eric interrupted pulling the manila envelope out of a pocket in his coat. "Or is that not you in these pictures?"

Angel swiped the envelope, looked inside, and saw the photos of himself dressed in drag and kissing men at different bars around Greenwich Village.

Maggie audibly gasped.

Angel's face fell completely, and he started shaking. It was all he could do to not start panicking.

"I've suspected as much for a while, little brother," Eric said circling around, stopping behind Angel, and looking over his shoulder. "That's why I had you followed. Psychologists would say you have a serious mental illness. But don't worry, I've read that it's pathological. It can be cured. You just need some electric shock therapy. We called some of our contacts at the sanitorium. They have a room waiting just for you…"

"You didn't…" Maggie said while Angel listened quietly and kept shaking.

"No…" Angel whispered pathetically.

"They're waiting outside now," Eric said with an even more twisted smile. "If you try to leave, they'll put you away forever, Angelo, and you'll probably never see the light of day again. But hey, at least, you won't be making us look bad no more."

Angel felt some tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

"You're making a mistake," Maggie lied stepping between him and Angel. "You have the wrong guy. He knocked me up. He ain't no fag."

Eric turned to her and replied, "Save the lines, doll. I know you're just a fluke. You think these are the only photos I have? I have more than enough evidence to put him away for a long time."

"You can't do this…" Maggie snarled angrily.

"Shut it, ya quiff," Eric retorted getting his face close to hers. "Or, you go with him."

"I ain't crazy," Maggie retorted glaring back into his eyes.

"I'm sure we can make up a reason…" Eric replied.

"Eric, that's enough," Don Lucchese said. "You've made your point. We can't hurt her."

Eric glared at Maggie one last time before backing away to resume his former perch.

Don Lucchese pulled out a cigar, lit it, put it in his mouth, and said, "I must congratulate you, Angelo. You've found yourself a good doll. I ain't seen many women willin' to stand behind their men like yours has. Especially not in front of us. It's a shame you ain't attracted to her. She's quite the livewire."

Angel was paying attention to everything even if he wasn't responding to it. He wandered over to the window and peeked out to see if his brother was telling the truth. He was.

"You can't run away from this one, Angelo," Don Lucchese said. "Either you make yourself honest or you leave with the men in white coats and your girlfriend loses custody of your son as soon as he's born."

"You can't!" Maggie yelled.

"Pipe down, sweetheart," Don Lucchese said. "Either you sign the document, or you lose the kid. It's your choice. What's it gonna be?"

Angel lingered by the window staring at the white van in absolute terror, but he could hear Maggie walking to the desk and the sound her pen made when she signed the marriage license.

"Now, it's your turn, Angelo," Don Lucchese said. "Angelo?"

"The poor fag has lost his mind," Eric mocked when Angel didn't respond. "It's a shame, too. She's a looker. I guess I'll do it."

"What?!" Maggie yelled sounding terrified. "But I don't love you either…"

Angel had enough. He walked away from the window and over to the desk with terrified anger behind his eyes. Don Lucchese saw him and didn't say anything.

"Darlin', can you really afford to say no?" Eric cooed while he took the pen from Maggie's hand and wrapped his arm around her waist while she tensed at his touch. "It's alright, doll. I ain't all bad. I'll take care of ya. Just let me sign my name…HEY!"

Without saying a word, Angel snatched the pen from his brother and shoved Eric off Maggie so hard that he fell on the floor.

"Angel…" Maggie said in surprise.

Eric quickly got to his feet and started to lunge after his brother, but Don Lucchese held up his hand and made him back down.

Angel signed his name on the document, stuffed it in the envelope, grabbed Maggie's hand, and pulled her behind him as he tried to exit the room.

But before he could leave, Don Lucchese said, "Wait, son. Don't you want your check? You'll need to find yourselves a place to live."

Angel let go of Maggie's hand and walked back to snatch the check from his father's hand. Eric was standing close by and glaring proudly. The check was for $50,000. He stuffed it in the pocket of his coat and returned to Maggie.

"Get somethin' nice for the poor dame," Don Lucchese said as Angel grabbed Maggie's hand and exited the office. "For God's sake, you knock her up and can't even get her some decent clothes?"

Angel fumed angrily as he grabbed both the coats from the rack, threw open the front door, and pulled Maggie out behind him.

The men in the white van drove away as soon as they saw them exit the house together, evidently some previously agreed upon signal.

When the van drove off, Maggie asked, "Angel…?"

"Don't say anything yet," Angel warned quietly and fearfully. "Not while they can possibly hear us."

"Okay," Maggie whispered as they finally made it to the car.

Angel opened the passenger door and helped Maggie climb into her seat. Then once she was settled, he shut her door, opened the door behind her, and threw the coats and the envelope in the back seat.

Once he shut that door, Angel saw Eric staring at him from the office window. He was still smirking proudly before he waved at him. It was nothing short of unnerving.

Angel turned away without responding, entered his car, and drove away as quickly as he could.

Everything was quiet between Angel and Maggie until they made it out of the neighborhood. The night was coming fast, and the streetlamps were coming on. Angel could feel Maggie staring at her, but all his focus was on holding everything together until they were a safe distance away.

Even so, Angel felt tears escaping the corners of his eyes as he finally reached downtown. When Maggie saw them, she started sobbing.

It was then that Angel parallel-parked the car next to the sidewalk. Maggie continued to cry as if nothing had changed.

Angel hesitated for a moment before he finally said, "Maggie, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was stupid. I was so fucking stupid. I should never have dragged you into this. I should never have called them. Now, you're part of this too, and they'll never let you go. I should have known they'd pull something like this. Mag, I'm so sorry…"

"I ain't cryin' for me," Maggie interrupted between sobs. "Angel, I'm cryin' for you. I knew what you told me about them, but dear God…They were ready to throw you away in a heartbeat just because you wouldn't sign a damn document. This is what you've had to live with your whole life, and now, you're in deeper shit because of me…"

"No, Maggie," Angel said slowly losing control of his tears. "I'm the one who knocked you up. I'm the reason you're now a Lucchese. I fucked things up for ya like I've fucked things up for myself my entire life…"

Maggie stopped crying and just listened.

More tears fell before Angel said, "I thought I was bein' smart, Mag. I thought I was takin' care of everything. I thought I was protectin' myself. I thought I could keep myself from getting hurt. I thought I was smart enough to stay safe and get away, but it wasn't enough. No matter what I do, they always find a loophole. And now, they have me by my fuckin' balls…"

It was Angel's turn to cry, and he finally did. He cried harder than he ever had in his life up to that point. The only time he would cry harder would be after Cassie's death. Angel leaned on Maggie's shoulder and released the pent-up pain his heart had felt practically since the day he was born. He didn't know how long he sat there crying like that, but Maggie held him without flinching.


	7. Chapter 7

When Angel had finally cried all his tears, he brought Maggie to spend the night at his house since she didn't feel like facing her family quite yet. Thankfully, he had plenty of food, spare women's clothing, and feminine products to suit Maggie's needs.

While she got herself ready for bed, Angel laid on the couch without moving and sipped some bootlegged alcohol to drown out his pain. Maggie had asked if she could serve him in any way "like a proper wife" and he said no every time.

"Hey, Angel?" Maggie said emerging from his room with one of his nightshirts on after taking a shower. "I just figured out something important…"

Angel rolled over on the couch to face her and responded, "What?"

"We're not actually married," Maggie said.

"What?"

"It's true. My parents eloped as teenagers, and they told me that they had to go sign a document in front of a judge. I asked why, and they told me that the document wasn't valid unless it was."

"So, what you're sayin' is?"

"Angel, if the document isn't signed in the presence of a judge and a few witnesses, it isn't valid. That means that even though we signed that document we aren't technically married. This is still a common law marriage."

Angel sat up on his couch and said with a sad smile, "You were always the smart one in school, Mag. Unfortunately, to my pops, it's still a marriage. We can't just get divorced whenever we want."

"No," Maggie replied sitting next to him with her diabolical smile. "Not unless there's a good reason. What if I 'cheated' on you until I found someone to provide for me in your place? You could 'cheat' on me with your flings too to make it even. After all, we ain't technically married. Then when I finally find true love, we can get 'divorced.' That way, you'll be off the hook for me and I can be with my prince charming. You'll be in the wedding of course."

"I better be," Angel muttered sarcastically under his breath before continuing. "Look, Maggie, that sounds all well and good, but you're getting way ahead of yourself here. You're pregnant with a Lucchese child who could possibly be my family's heir. You're 'married' to a Lucchese. I hate to break this to ya, Mag, but you're now untouchable. Even the most enamored Casanova knows to stay away from a gangster's moll."

"I know that," Maggie replied. "That's why I'm not changin' my name. I wrote my maiden name on the marriage certificate and that's the one I intend to use. I ain't wearin' no ring either. Once the baby's born, they'll never know the difference…"

"It's too risky, Mag," Angel said more seriously.

"Ish kabibble," Maggie said dismissively standing up and walking to Angel's room.

"I'm serious, Maggie."

"So am I. I'm gonna find another man, Angel. I'm not gonna force ya to be my sugar daddy. You already have to work for the mafia. You don't have to suffer for protecting me, too. I'm goin' to free myself."

Angel had enough.

He got up, followed her into his room, turned her around by her shoulders, and said, "Maggie, don't you get it? There is no freeing yourself. Not from this. If my Dad finds out that the mother of his grandson is messin' around, he'll go after you and then after me for making him look bad. We have to do what he says and watch each other's backs from now on."

Stubbornly, Maggie pulled his hands off her shoulders and said, "You've given up on getting away from the mob. Doesn't mean I have to. They forced us into this. We're part of 'em now, but that doesn't mean we have to live by their rules when they're not around. Besides, I'm 17! I can mess around as much as I want!"

Then without another word, Maggie stomped over to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Maggie…" Angel pleaded.

"Get bent!" Maggie yelled.

"Fine!" Angel spat back as he returned to the couch, sat down, and lit a cigarette to give himself time to think and calm down.

After about ten minutes of staring at the floor, Angel's head started clearing up, but before he could make up his mind to return to the bathroom, he heard Maggie exit the bathroom and re-enter the room and looked up to see her. Her short, brown hair was disheveled, and her face was wet with tears.

Angel smiled sympathetically while Maggie sat down next to him on the couch and leaned on him. He laid back down on the couch and let her lie on top of him while he held her. They laid like that for a few moments before Maggie broke her silence.

"I don't want this, Angel," Maggie said sadly as she started to cry again. "I don't mind so much about the baby, but I can't live like they want me to. I'm sorry. I can't just be a housewife living in a golden cage under the mob's constant supervision. I'll go mad."

"I know," Angel replied. "I understand. That's why I moved away."

"I don't want you to be under the gun for me. I don't want to get you in trouble. I just wanna live my own life. My mother ran away and became a nurse because she didn't want to be stuck in boring arranged marriages like her sisters. She wanted her own life. I just want the same thing. I wanna get a job so I can pull my own weight. I wanna fall in love. I wanna tie the knot with someone who's enamored with me. I wanna live, Angel. I know you do, too. I don't care what your father says. I'm gonna do it."

"I know, Mag. I want you to be happy, so I won't stop you. I won't stop either. I'm sorry. I just ask that we be careful. Okay?"

Maggie smiled at him and stopped crying before she laughed to herself and said, "Okay. I just hope that men'll still look at me after I give birth. I already feel disgusting."

"Why do you say that, baby?" Angel asked while rubbing her head.

"I'm gonna be so fat," Maggie whined. "My bubs will be full of milk and impossible to tape down. Most men like girls who're flat-chested. I'm screwed."

Angel laughed out loud and said, "You've clearly never been to a cabaret. You know how many guys stuff their bras just to look like they have breasts and how many men go wild for it?"

"I've been to a cabaret with you before. That doesn't count. They're all fags."

"No, no, straight men went for it, too."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I swear to God. They had ladies with them, and they went for big bubs. You'll be fine."

"Thank God."

After another minute of silence, Maggie yawned and said, "Angel, level with me here. I'm fucking crazy. Ain't I?"

"You just now figured that out?" Angel asked sarcastically.

"You know I have a delayed reaction to things sometimes," Maggie complained. "I just haven't had much time to think about it, but yeah, I think I honestly have some screws loose. I mean. I willingly slept with a homosexual mobster. I'm happily carrying his child. I went with said mobster to meet his family. I yelled at a mafia don and his second-in-command. Now, I'm 'married' to this mobster, but I have his consent to cheat on him. God, I should be committed."

"Yeah, you should be," Angel teased leaning his face closer to hers. "You're fuckin' insane. But you know what? So am I. That's why you're my best friend."

Maggie kissed him on the cheek and said, "You're sweet."

She shut her eyes and started dozing on top of his chest. Angel took this as a cue to put his hand between her legs.

"Angel!" Maggie yelled slapping his hand away.

"What?" Angel asked in confusion. "You said you wanted a hand job."

"Not while I'm sleeping, moron!" Maggie said.

"You wanna go to sleep?" Angel asked while sitting up. "You're startin' to get cranky."

"Sure," Maggie said sitting up and yawning. "I'm beat."

Without a word, Angel scooped her into his arms and started carrying her bridal style.

"Angel, what the hell are ya doing?" Maggie asked in annoyance.

"We're 'married,'" Angel said playfully carrying her to his bed. "Aren't we? Isn't carrying your wife over the threshold a tradition?"

Maggie exhaustedly moaned and said, "That's only through the front door, moron."

"Christ, I ain't carryin' you that far. You're too heavy."

"Up yours."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Shameless plug-in. I now have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n if you're interested. Shameless plug out.

Unfortunately, Don Lucchese and Eric paid Maggie's parents a visit the next day before Maggie could reach them.

Angel and Maggie caught the two of them just as they were leaving. When their eyes met, Don Lucchese and Eric only looked back before they drove away in Eric's car.

Angel and Maggie quickly ran inside to check on Maggie's parents. They found them sitting on the couch. They were deeply shaken despite their best efforts to hide it. Evidently, Don Lucchese and Eric only wanted to announce the "marriage" and tell them that Maggie and her family would now be under their "protection."

From then on, Angel and Maggie knew they had to act fast. Maggie gathered her things and moved in with Angel until they found a nice apartment for her to live in and got it furnished. He looked after her until she moved in and had his apartment to himself again

Maggie needed all the help she could get. Very soon, Maggie's belly grew bigger and her feet grew so swollen that she could hardly walk. Angel helped her out as often as she could and got her help when he or her mother weren't available.

His kid sister Molly even stepped in a few times. She was the only one of Angel's relatives Maggie could stand. His father and brother stayed away for the most part, and that was the way they liked it.

Despite his oncoming depression, Angel gave Maggie all the support he could as the day grew nearer. She could tell that he was miserable. He spent more time drinking and doing drugs, but Maggie understood why. Angel knew that, if the baby was a boy, he would never have a real relationship with him. His father and brother would see to that. He worried that getting too attached would only make it that much harder on him, so he tried to distance himself from his child.

It upset Maggie, but she couldn't blame him. She wished she could do the same thing. She counted down the days until the child was born and she could drink with Angel again.

The day finally came. Even without the restoration of his memories, Angel would never have forgotten it.

Maggie went into labor on a cool day in March 1929. He came to offer his support as soon as he heard. Of course, all his 19-year-old ass could do was sit in the waiting room and helplessly listen to her scream in agony while her mother and the other nurses walked her through the process.

Angel was scared. His mother had died from childbirth complications while giving birth to Molly when he was 8-years-old. He didn't want to lose his best friend the same way. He also didn't want to lose their child to the Lucchese mob.

Many emotions were running through his head, and all he could do was grip the edge of his seat and wait until it was all over, so he could go drink himself to oblivion.

Angel had never been a devout Catholic, but that day, he remembered praying one of the handful of times he ever had in his life.

"If you're up there, please spare Maggie's life," Angel prayed. "And if it's possible, could you please let the baby be a girl, so my Dad will leave us alone?"

As soon as Angel uttered those words, Maggie's screams stopped, and he heard the high-pitched cry of his baby.

Then, he heard Maggie cry out in happiness. That was one prayer answered.

The second one was answered after about half an hour when Maggie's mother Victoria finally came to the door outside the delivery area.

Before the door was even all the way open, Angel blurted out, "Is Maggie okay?!"

The 38-year-old bobbed brunette in her nursing uniform smiled gently and replied in her sweet southern accent, "She's fine. But honey, what are you sitting around for? Don't you want to meet your daughter?"

Angel's jaw dropped wide open as he felt tears forming at the corner of his eyes. Initially, he was too stunned to say anything.

"D-daughter?" Angel finally stammered out. "She's a girl?"

"Yeah, child," Victoria replied with a little laugh. "She's a girl. Come and see for yourself, daddy."

Angel quickly got to his feet and walked into the room while Victoria held open the door.

Maggie was sitting up in bed and leaning against some pillows propped up behind her back with her bundle in her arms. She looked exhausted and overjoyed as she held her little girl close to her chest for the first time.

Angel walked over quickly to her bedside and said, "Hey, Maggie. Are you alright? Do you feel okay? How are you? How is -?"

"I'm alright, Angel," Maggie said with a weary smile and joyful tears at the corners of her eyes. "But have you seen her? Oh, God. She's beautiful. Just check out her eyes. They're bluish-green. That means she'll have your eyes."

Angel's eyes finally fell on his baby, and he was speechless. She had his olive-colored skin, his hair, his nose, and his eyes. She was alert and looking around at the world already. Those eyes wondered around until they fell on her Daddy.

When her eyes looked up into his that first time, their helpless curiosity and complete innocence pierced him to the core. For the first time in his life, Angel fell in love.

"Mag," Angel managed to get out before his tough eyes flooded with tears. "She's beautiful…She's absolutely beautiful…I love her..."

"I love her, too," Maggie replied looking at him and understanding his relief. "You wanna hold her?"

"Can I?" Angel asked in surprise.

"Of course," Victoria said lifting the baby out of Maggie's arms. "She's your daughter. You know how to hold a baby?"

"Uh, no," Angel said nervously. "Maybe I shouldn't. What if I drop her?"

"It's not hard, dear," Victoria said. "You see how I'm holding her? You do the same thing."

"Uh, okay," Angel replied nervously adjusting his arms. "Like this?"

"Yes sir," Victoria replied carefully placing the baby in his arms.

Angel held her carefully and looked down at her lovingly while she looked him over in her peaceful curiosity. He never knew a heart like his could melt so easily.

"Hey there…" Angel said trying unsuccessfully to hold back his tears before a thought passed his mind. "Wait! She doesn't have a name. We have to name her, Maggie. God, I can't believe we forgot to pick out a name."

"You forgot to pick out a name," Maggie corrected. "I already thought of one. Cassandra. It's the name of the prophetess from that Greek tragedy and from 'the Iliad…'"

"Ain't she the one who's doomed to make prophecies no one believes and is eventually murdered by her kidnapper's vengeful wife?"

"Yes, but I looked it up in a baby name dictionary and it also means 'shine among men' or 'entangler of men.' I love it. It's beautiful. It's dramatic. It's unique. It's strong. It's a celebration of feminine power! It's perfect for her…"

"Can't argue against that," Angel said as Cassie started to doze and he gave her a kiss on top of her head. "But can I choose the middle name? I want it to be Maria for my sainted mother."

"Sure, Angel," Maggie said as she rolled onto her side to catch a few Z's herself. "Our daughter will be Cassandra Maria di Lucchese."

"I wish she could be here," Angel said quietly as he held Cassie against his chest. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even know how to change a diaper."

"I'll teach ya if you really wanna know," Victoria said. "But you must be sure you want to participate, sugar. Most men shirk the work for a reason. Caring for a baby is not for the faint of heart. If you're worried about Maggie, you know you can get her a nanny."

"I know," Angel said sitting himself on a chair next to the bed while glancing at Cassie who slept peacefully in his arms. "But I don't want to be away from her. She needs me."

Victoria sat down next to Angel, put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled at him knowingly.

"Alright, Angel," she replied. "I'll teach you everything I know."

Angel shifted Cassie's weight to another arm, so he could give Victoria a side hug and said, "Thanks, Mrs. Walters…"

"You can call me Mama V or just Mama if you want to, son," Victoria interrupted.

Angel looked at her and knew she understood much more than she let on. All he could do was smile in response as he continued to snuggle with his baby girl.

Later that day when Angel packed up some things in his apartment to live with his "wife" for a while, his father called to ask about the baby. When Angel told him she was a girl, his father muttered "congratulations" and hung up.

It was a cold response, but Angel hardly cared. He had another family now.

From that day forward, Angel wasn't devout, but he never again doubted there was a God.


	9. Chapter 9

Eventually, Angel's father and brother came by to visit, characteristically at the most annoyingly inconvenient time possible.

It was when Cassie was just over six weeks old. Victoria had taught Angel and Maggie how to take care of their baby, and they learned well. Even though they were both completely inexperienced with child care, they managed to keep Cassie alive, and they considered that cause enough for celebration.

So, when Victoria's mother said Cassie was strong enough to handle an outing, Angel and Maggie took Cassie straight to Angel's favorite cabaret. He dressed to the nines in one of Maggie's fancy dark blue evening gowns and dressed Cassie in an outfit of the same color so he could show her off to all his buddies to complete his look. Maggie came along to flirt and to be on standby in case Cassie got hungry or fussy.

After they finally left, they arrived at Maggie's apartment. Maggie unlocked her door and looked at Angel who was holding Cassie against his fake breasts. Cassie was sound asleep, and Angel and Maggie were a bit inebriated. It was a fun time for the whole family.

"I'm so glad you suggested the cabaret, Angel," Maggie said tiredly opening the door for Angel to carry Cassie in. "That really was the bee's knees. I don't remember when I last had that much fun. I can't believe so many fellas were checkin' me out."

"I told you there were men who liked big bubs," Angel said using a free hand to jiggle Maggie's bub as he walked by. "You have nothin' to worry about. You'll have a new beau before you know it."

"I also can't believe how popular Cassie was," Maggie said shutting and locking the door behind her. "Who knew so many fags loved babies?"

"I know," Angel said kissing the head of his sleeping child. "And who knew babies made such good drag props? She really completed the outfit. By the way, thanks again for letting me pinch the good rags."

"Don't mention it," Maggie replied. "I'm just glad Cassie didn't spit up or vomit on it like she has with all my other outfits."

"Hey," Angel said hugging Cassie defensively. "Don't be mean to my bambina. She can't help it."

"Why do you always take her side?" Maggie replied amusedly with a yawn. "Are you gonna get her to bed? I was hoping to take a shower."

"Of course, I'm her Mother. Ain't I?" Angel said with a wink before he disappeared into Cassie's room to put her down.

Angel changed Cassie into a nightgown, placed her in her crib and watched her sleep while waiting for his "wife" to finish taking her shower.

He had been more active than any man he knew when it came to taking care of his daughter. He changed diapers, he prepared bottles, he gave her baths, and he loved every minute of it. It helped that Cassie was an unusually laid-back baby, but the truth was that Angel was wrapped around her finger.

He enjoyed seeing her grow and discover the world every day. Angel himself couldn't explain it, but Cassie made his heart come alive a little more every day she was alive.

Angel watched Cassie's little belly move up and down as she rested in her white gown covered by the most expensive baby blankets he could afford. Maggie always gave him grief for buying Cassie such expensive things when she only spat up or crapped on them, but Angel couldn't stop himself. Cassie was his little princess. She had to have everything he could afford. She didn't deserve anything less.

Angel affectionately reached down and held Cassie's little hand while she slept. He held her hand until Maggie finished bathing.

When Maggie finished her shower, Angel let go of her hand and pulled the blankets up to Cassie's neck. Then he reluctantly made himself leave to wash off his makeup and go to sleep in the guestroom he was using.

Angel slept as well as one could with a six-week-old baby in the house. Cassie cried about every three hours and Maggie would wake up to feed her.

Angel's shift didn't come until the morning. He would take care of Cassie then to give Maggie a chance to sleep in.

Cassie woke up and started crying just before 7am. Angel opened his eyes and wearily shuffled into his daughter's bedroom.

"Good morning, gorgeous," Angel said as he wearily walked over to her cradle and picked her up. "How's it going? Whatcha cryin' for?"

When Angel picked her up, he noticed that her diaper was sagging.

"Looks like you wet yourself, kiddo," Angel said with a weary smile as he tried to bounce her to get her to stop crying. "Don't worry. I'll get you all fixed up in no time, babe."

Angel laid Cassie on top of the changing table that was sitting against the wall. Unfortunately, he pulled off her diaper and discovered that she had done quite a bit more than wet herself.

"Oh, my God, Cass!" Angel said in surprise. "How did your tiny bowels make all that?"

Cassie cried some more, so Angel picked her up again and held her against his chest.

"Bambina, don't cry," Angel soothed as he carried her into the bathroom. "I'll get you cleaned up. I have to take a shower anyway."

Angel turned on the shower, pulled off Cassie's unsalvageable cloth diaper, and tossed it in the trash. Then he took off Cassie's clothes and sat her against the back of the tub just out of reach of the water coming out of the showerhead while he took off his.

The change in position and the new sight of the shower fascinated Cassie so much that she stopped crying and just started watching the water come down in front of her like rain.

"Welcome to your first shower, Cassie," Angel said as he finished taking off all his clothes except for his boxers. "This is how grown-ups clean themselves. Enjoy the view. I'll be right back. I'm gonna get your breakfast going."

Angel walked to the kitchen, pulled a prepared bottle of pumped breast milk out of the icebox, set it in a small pot of water he placed on the stove, and set the stove low before going back to the bathroom.

While he was walking in and shutting the door behind him, Angel saw Cassie reach out curiously for the water coming out of the shower head, but since she was still so small, she couldn't quite reach to get to it.

All Angel could do was look at her and smile. Everything was still so new and wonderful to her.

"Hey, bambina," Angel said as he stepped into the tub and picked up his daughter. "You want to feel the water? Here you go."

Angel stepped out of the oncoming water and held Cassie so that she was right next to it without it pouring into her face. She looked at it curiously. Then Cassie used her limited motor control to look back at Angel and cooed at him adorably as if she was asking for his approval.

"It's just water, Cass," Angel said patiently. "Go on. Touch it."

As if she understood him, Cassie reached her hand into the water and let it touch her. She let out a surprised yelp as she pulled it back.

Angel chuckled to himself and she twisted her head towards him as if she was amused at his antics before she stuck her hand back in the water and held it there for a while.

"It's nice," Angel said. "Isn't it, bambina? Now, let's get you cleaned up, babe. Ya stink something awful."

Angel turned Cassie around so that she was facing him and held her so that the shower was running down her back and rinsing her off. Angel reached for the bar of soap and alternated between holding Cassie on his chest so that he could get soap on her and holding her under the shower head without letting the water get in her eyes.

Cassie seemed to enjoy the new sensation, but for Angel, the effort was exhausting.

"God, I wish I had more than one pair of arms," Angel complained as he rubbed some soap into Cassie's hair. "That would make this process so much easier. Alright, Cass, just let me rinse off your hair and you'll be all clean. Just hold still."

Angel held Cassie so that she was lying on top of arms that were extended towards the shower. One was supporting her head and the other was supporting the rest of her.

Very carefully, he moved her head until it was at a place where the soap could be rinsed out without getting her eyes wet. Angel managed to get all the soap rinsed out, but when he was sitting her up again, some water poured from her wet hair into her eyes and she instantly started sobbing.

"Bambina," Angel said turning away from the pouring water and bouncing Cassie up and down to calm her down. "I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to get water in your eyes. It's okay. Please don't cry. Uh…Hey! Wanna see how grown-ups shower?"

Angel placed his daughter against the back of the tub and let her watch him shower.

Oddly enough, it seemed to work. Cassie calmed down as she watched her father clean every part of his body except for the part his boxers covered. She didn't need to see that.

Angel smiled at her. Cassie really was a curious kid.

She kept watching him as he turned off the water, hopped out of the shower, wrapped himself in a brown bathrobe, and dropped off his boxers in the sink.

"Okay, bambina," Angel said picking up his daughter and bundling her up in a towel. "Now for the fun part…"

Angel dragged his comb across his hair and then hers. Cassie still didn't have much hair, but by God, it was still going to look good. His daughter would not go outside looking a mess, not that she cared. Cassie never fussed about it, because thankfully, Angel always managed to be gentle on her little head.

When he was satisfied with how she looked, Angel said, "Alright, doll, you're lookin' good."

Angel continued holding her with one arm while he brushed his teeth. She stared curiously at that, too.

Angel rinsed his mouth, smiled at her, and said, "Sorry, Cass, not until you're older."

He then carried her into her room, got a new diaper on her, and got ready to carry out his favorite task of the day, picking out what his daughter was going to wear.

Angel opened the closet door to reveal the plethora of outfits that he had bought just for Cassie, so he could dress her up like the doll she was. Maggie constantly made fun of him for it, but he didn't care. Cassie was the cutest baby in the world, and by God, he was going to make sure she always looked her best as long as she would let him.

"Okay, Cassie," Angel said cheerily. "You know the drill. What do you feel like wearing today, hun? Hmmm. You know. I was thinking about the…"

Suddenly, Cassie burst into tears. She started crying and would not stop. Angel held her close and tried to calm her down.

"Cass, what is the matter?" Angel soothed. "What's wrong? Are your eyes still burning? Did you wet yourself again? I don't know how you could have done that. You haven't even…Oh, shit…"

Angel realized just then what the problem and realized at the exact same time that the bottle had been on the stove the whole time.

He wrapped Cassie in a blanket he grabbed from the crib and rushed out of the room as quickly as he could.

When Angel reached the stove, he turned it off, took the bottle out of the water, and tested some of the milk on his hand. It was not too hot.

Angel sighed in relief and started feeding Cassie the bottle. She stopped crying and started drinking it down voraciously.

He carried her over to the couch, sat down, and said, "I almost let it get to hot for ya. I'm sorry, Cass. I guess we were havin' a bit too much fun in there, and I let it slip my mind. I have so much fun with ya I forget you're still just a baby. I hope you can forgive me. You know. You might need 'round-the-clock attention, but I have had more fun with you these past six weeks than I have ever had with anyone else, and that includes that night with Maggie. Don't tell her I said that, though. I wouldn't wanna hurt her feelings. She's an amazing friend and mama."

Cassie began slowing down her drinking and started to doze off.

Angel smiled at her as she finished drinking her bottle and said, "I love you, Cassie. It was worth being straight for a night to have you."


	10. Chapter 10

After burping her, Angel placed Cassie in the little day bed he kept in the living room, switched on the radio at a low volume, and went off to take a bathroom break and to change into what he was going to wear for that day.

He didn't dress very fancy in those days, at least not by his standards. He emerged from his room in a plain off-white collared shirt, brown pants, suspenders, and leather shoes and got to work making coffee and preparing some breakfast for himself and Maggie.

It was how Angel had been living for the past month. It was a complete change from the partying and wild living he was used to. Before Angel barely ever spent any time at home. The drugs, alcohol, and good company were always a big enough draw to leave. But with Cassie, it was different.

With Cassie, Angel found that he didn't mind spending so much time at home, especially since Maggie was there with him. Even though their lives mostly consisted of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Cassie, it somehow never felt boring. He was practically a domestic and couldn't be happier.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted his cooking.

Angel looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was just about 9am. He wasn't behind on rent, and even if he was, the landlord usually didn't get over his hangover until about noon.

The knock on the door sounded again, so Angel just shrugged his shoulders, took the food off the stove before turning it off, and said, "Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first time. I'm comin'!"

Angel unlocked the door and muttered under his breath, "I swear to God if these are more Jehovah's witnesses…"

He opened the door to see his father and brother standing right outside. It was surprising to say the least.

"So, this is where you've been," Don Lucchese said. "I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it for myself."

Angel shrugged in annoyance and said, "Oh, great. It's you. What do you two want?"

"Angelo, I'm surprised at you," his father said in an overly sensitive tone that always managed to get on Angel's nerves. "Can't a grandfather come to visit his first grandchild?"

"What stopped you from coming by the first six weeks?" Angel asked skeptically. "Molly's been here at least half a dozen times."

"We were busy, little brother," Eric retorted. "We've had to deal with a lot of work, especially since you've been missing-in-action."

"Sure, blame me," Angel said sarcastically. "Look, I'm tired, so if you have nothing important to say, could you scram? I have to go back to taking care of my six-week-old daughter…"

Angel tried shutting the door, but Eric pushed his way through before he could shut the door and said, "Can't I see my niece, Angelo? Why do you have to be such a little bitch?"

Angel sighed and reluctantly held the door open, so his father could walk in to join his brother.

His father looked around and said condescendingly, "Quite the little dive you have here. I expected ya to be livin' somewhere swankier. Who picked out your furniture?"

"It came from Maggie's family," Angel said with badly hidden annoyance as he shut the door. "She didn't want us to waste money buying furniture."

"Ah, so your dame is cheap?" Don Lucchese said. "She doesn't need to be with all the dough we have. Not holdin' out on her, are ya?"

"No," Angel replied defensively. "She likes it the way it is, and I like to make her happy."

"Whatever you say, Angelo," Don Lucchese said dismissively. "I suppose it's spiffy enough for what it is. She keeps a nice house."

"Thanks, we try," Angel retorted sassily.

"Where is the little woman anyway?" Eric asked as he sat down on the couch.

"She's sleeping," Angel replied. "The baby kept her awake last night."

"So, you're caring for the baby yourself?" Eric asked incredulously. "Ain't that what nannies are for?"

"Why hire a nanny for a job you can do just fine yourself?" Angel retorted. "Besides, I've enjoyed it."

"Explains why you haven't been home in weeks," Eric spat back. "You're such a daisy."

"Enough bumpin' gums," Don Lucchese interrupted. "I want to see my granddaughter, Angelo. Can't you two put your petty bickerin' aside for that?"

Don Lucchese delivered a particularly pointed look to Eric, and he relented immediately.

Angel eyed them both suspiciously. He knew that look only too well. It was a look that said, "You know what we're here for. Don't futz up this job for us." It was that look that let Angel know they had an ulterior motive for showing up.

Angel covered his suspicion with an annoyed huff and said, "I'll go get Cassie. Don't make too much noise now. She fell asleep not too long ago."

He walked slowly and quietly as he always did when he hoped to hear them talk behind his back, but they were completely silent. They were definitely hiding something.

Angel arrived in his kitchen and stared at the calm baby lying in her bed swaddled in her blanket. He stared at her peaceful sleep for a moment before he reached down and lifted her into his arms. Angel held her closely and stared blankly out the window as she rested against his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Cass," Angel whispered quietly. "I won't let the bad people hurt you. I promise."

Angel took a deep breath and walked back into the living room where his family was waiting.

"Here, she is," Angel said as he lowered her into his arms so they could see her face. "This is Cassandra Maria di Lucchese."

Much to Angel's surprise, Eric's expression softened and his mouth hung slightly agape. Not to Angel's surprise, his father's expression didn't change.

"Can I hold her?" Eric asked.

Angel visibly hesitated for a moment before Eric asked again.

"Please?" Eric asked with pleading, excited eyes.

Angel couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. He was so taken aback that he laid Cassie into his arms immediately.

"Hold your arms out carefully," Angel said positioning his daughter in his brother's arms as carefully as he could. "You have to support her head. She's been holding up her head more, but she still needs help."

"Like this?" Eric asked holding Cassie much like Angel did the first time.

"Yeah," Angel replied with a gentle patience that surprised him. "You've got it."

Eric stared at Cassie in absolute awe. It was an expression that he never thought he'd see from his cold-hearted gangster of a brother. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself.

Angel sat down next to Eric while he continued studying the baby's face.

"She's got Mom's nose," Eric finally said after a few minutes of silence. "I swear. It looks just like hers."

"She has her eyes, too," Angel said. "They're green, just like mine."

"No kidding?"

"Nope, you'll see her eyes if she wakes up. She took most of her face from Maggie, but she got some of our good stuff…"

Just then, Cassie opened her eyes. Once again, Eric was awestruck as she looked straight at him and studied his face like he was studying hers.

"Hey there, toots," Angel said as he rustled his fingers through her hair. "This is your Uncle Eric and that guy over there looking all serious is your Grandpa. Say hello."

No one said anything while Eric and Cassie continued to study each other's faces.

"Well, what do you think?" Angel asked.

"You were right about the eyes, Angelo," Eric said holding Cassie up so that she could look straight at his face. "They're just like Mom's."

"I told ya," Angel said. "She's kinda funny. She'll stare at you all day with those eyes. She's such a curious little thing. It's kinda unnerving, but you get used to it. I know she don't mean nothin' by it. I read somewhere it's a sign of intelligence."

"Intelligence, coming from you?" Eric asked sarcastically. "That's rich, but I suppose it could happen. You aren't a dumbass all the time."

Angel paused for a moment and sat silently. That was the sincerest compliment that Eric had ever given him.

Eric cradled Cassie gently in his arms and said, "She's a beauty, Angel. I'll give you that."

He then nervously glanced over to his father heightening Angel's suspicions.

"Hey, Dad?" Eric asked. "Do you want to hold her?"

"I can see her from here," Don Lucchese replied harshly and gesturing with his eyes towards Cassie's diaper.

Eric looked away and then nervously shook his head. Evidently, Don Lucchese didn't buy it because he made the same gesture again.

Normally, Angel would have stayed out of it, but this time, his bambina was on the line.

"What the hell are you two up to?" Angel asked suspiciously. "Come on. Spit it out. I know you two are hiding something. What is it? Why are you really here?"

"You're smarter than we give you credit for, Angelo," Don Lucchese said while Eric, for the first time in his life, looked away in shame. "I'll get straight to it. We know that you went out with your wife and the baby last night over to a cabaret…"

"What the hell?" Angel asked angrily. "Why are you tailing me this time?"

"We didn't," Eric replied defensively. "One of our informants just happened to see you there."

"Sure," Angel replied sarcastically.

"We know you dressed in drag, Angelo," Don Lucchese retorted. "The baby was dressed up too, but we wanna know what for."

"What are you saying?" Angel asked defensively.

"Angelo, do we really have to spell it out for you?" Eric replied. "Was the baby dressed in drag last night? Is she actually a he?"

Angel was too stunned to reply for a second, but then, he said, "No. No! Cassie's a girl. I was there when she was born. I have been changing her diapers for weeks. I bathed her this morning. I have the fucking certificate from the hospital. If Cassie was a boy, I would have figured it out by now. Why the hell would I lie about something like that?"

"Because you love your child and want to keep him from us?" Don Lucchese asked.

Angel gritted his teeth angrily, took Cassie out of Eric's arms, and said, "Visiting hours are over! Scram, the both of ya!"

Cassie started fussing in Angel's arms. He knew it was probably because of the yelling, but he didn't lose face in front of his brother or his father. He couldn't.

Eric put a hand on his Father's shoulder and said, "Dad, I didn't feel any balls on her. Angelo's tellin' the truth. We should go…"

"Not until I know for sure," Don Lucchese said slapping the hand away and walking towards his frightened younger son. "Let me look at her, Angelo. Just one peak to be sure you ain't lyin' to me…"

Angel held his crying daughter more defensively and snarled angrily, "Stay the fuck away from her, you goddamn pervert."

"Look, who's finally grown a pair," Don Lucchese said now standing over his son who was glaring him down for the first time in his life. "Hand her over or show me yourself, Angelo. Either way, I ain't gonna be happy if you're hidin' an heir from me and I ain't leavin' till I know for sure. I'm unhappy about this attitude, son."

"I don't care. You can push me around all you want. But you ain't layin' a finger on my daughter."

"Hand her over, Angelo."

"No."

Don Lucchese then punched Angel in the gut as hard as he could. Angel keeled over in pain as his father snatched his sobbing little girl out of his arms, unwrapped her blanket, dropped it on the floor, and peeked under her diaper.

Angel leered at his father in unbridled hatred. His baby girl was crying even harder now. The poor thing had no idea what was happening, only that it was wrong. Angel couldn't listen to it. He forced himself to stand up despite the pain.

"Looks like you were tellin' the truth, Angelo," Don Lucchese said coldly as Angel finally got to his feet. "She's…AHHHHH!"

Without a word, Angel punched his old man in the face. The punch was hard enough to leave him stunned and staggering in pain so that Angel could snatch back Cassie. Eric just watched in stunned silence.

Once he got her back, Angel held Cassie against his shoulder and started bouncing her up and down while saying, "It's okay, bambina mia. It's okay…"

"Have you lost your mind?" his father finally asked threateningly while rubbing his face.

"I told ya," Angel said as he confidently stared his father down again while rubbing his baby girl's back. "You can fuck with me as much as ya want, but you will never ever touch my little girl like that ever again. Is that understood, Dad?"

Don Lucchese straightened up, smiled at his son smugly, and said, "You really have grown a pair. Haven't you? Who knew two dolls were all it would take…?"

"Get out," Angel interrupted firmly. "Now. You're upsetting Cassie."

Don Lucchese laid a check on the couch, smiled again, and said, "Enjoy your paid paternity leave, Angelo. We've got work to do. Come on, Eric."

Don Lucchese showed himself out. Eric gave Angel an almost apologetic look before he silently slunk away to join his father.

When the door shut behind them, Angel allowed his face to show pain, but he gritted his teeth and held his crying baby daughter close.

Angel cried a little, too. They cried together at the fear and pain their family brought. No matter how much time passed, they would always scare him, but now, he had to be strong. Cassie needed him to be.

Angel walked over to the couch and flipped on the radio to calm himself and his baby down. He heard the opening trumpet chords as his new favorite Louis Armstrong song began playing. Angel smiled and started bobbing Cassie up and down to the music.

The jazz calmed him down like nothing else, especially when it came to Satchmo. Angel always felt connected to this man who like him faced a world of hell but always found a way to find beauty in it.

Cassie began calming down as Angel looked into her eyes and started singing with Louis Armstrong, "Oh, when you're smilin', when you're smilin', the whole world smiles with you. Yes, when you're laughin', oh, when you're laughin', the sun comes shinin' through. But when you're cryin, you bring on the rain, so stop your sighin' and be happy again. Yes, and keep on smilin', keep on smilin', baby, and the whole world smiles with you."

When the instrumental trumpet and piano section began, Angel stood up and started dancing with Cassie to the music. They looked at each other as Angel swayed with her to the smooth yet upbeat jazz melodies coming out of Louis Armstrong's trumpet and from his accompanying band.

When he noticed that she was calming down, Angel started making his moves fancier. He moved his feet around more smoothly. He dipped Cassie. He swung her in the air above his head. She seemed to enjoy at the extra movements, and the exercise calmed Angel down, too.

Then when the song finally closed, Angel dipped her one last time and smiled. Much to his surprise, for the first time in her life, Cassie smiled, too.

Her eyes lit up. Her lips spread open into a toothless grin. She even squealed to show her happiness.

Angel was dumbfounded for a second as he felt happy tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

Then Angel smiled back and said, "Cassie, you're smiling. Oh, my God. You're actually smiling! Maggie! Maggie, get out here!"

Maggie burst out of her room in her dressing gown with a handgun in her possession.

"Angel, I heard almost everything from the bathroom," Maggie said nervously. "I'm sorry I took so long. I had to get this handgun ready. Where are they? Did they leave? Are you okay? Is Cassie okay?"

"Yeah," Angel said nonchalantly walking over to her. "But that's not important now. Look, Maggie! Cassie learned how to smile."

Angel held Cassie out to Maggie, and sure enough, she was still smiling.

"Look at that," Maggie said happily dropping her handgun into the pocket of her dressing gown, taking her baby from Angel, and cradling her in her arms. "You learned how to smile. Great job, Cass! Keep it up. You're gonna be a cutie. I can already tell."

"What are ya talkin' about?" Angel asked taking his baby back, walking back over to the couch, and letting her lie on his lap. "She's already a cutie. She'll always be a cutie. I don't care if she sprouts six arms and turns pink. She'd still be a cutie."

Cassie continued smiling at his words and waving her arms around even though she had no idea what they meant. Maggie sat down next to them and continued watching her baby with her "husband."

"You have no idea how happy you make me, bambina," Angel said rubbing his little girl's head while she cooed happily in response.


	11. Chapter 11

Angel's immaturity brought him several close calls with danger when it came to Cassie. One night was particularly harrowing.

One October night in 1933, Angel was spending time with Cassie while Maggie was out on a date. After getting her fed, he took her to his favorite night club where he could drink while they played pool together.

Angel was 23 and didn't know any better. Cassie was four-years-old and enjoying her time with her Daddy. They were playing a modified version of pool where Angel used the pool stick, but Cassie rolled the ball with her hands.

"Hmmm…" Angel teased trying to sound less intoxicated than he was currently feeling. "Looks like you got me literally behind the eight ball, sugar."

"Oh, yeah," Cassie teased back while scooting around the pool table in her adorable green dress. "You'll never beat me this time! My strategy is foolproof."

"Foolproof, huh?" Angel said rubbing her head roughly. "You don't even know what that means."

"I do so!" Cassie said confidently. "It means you can't beat me! So, ha, ha, ha!"

"God, Angel!" another bar patron yelled from the bar. "Can't ya tell that kid of yours to pipe down? I came here just to get away from my kids!"

"Oh, lay off my kid," Angel retorted. "If you don't want us around, you can leave or take it up with my Chicago typewriter. Ya hear me?"

"Whatever," the clearly ossified man replied. "You and your kid can scram. You're both annoying."

"So's your old man!" Angel replied unphased.

"Daddy, why doesn't he like me?" Cassie asked sadly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, that guy's just a wet blanket who can't stand it when other people are having more fun than he is," Angel reassured her while hitting the white ball with his pool stick. "You don't need to let him make you feel bad about having fun. He's just another jerk you don't need to listen to. Okay?"

"Okay," Cassie said happily rolling the white ball into the other balls for her turn.

Angel smiled at her before his vision started blurring. He shook his head to clear his vision. Shit. He had more to drink that he realized. He had to leave while he was still sure he could drive Cassie home safely.

"Hey, Cassie!" Angel said pointing in the other direction. "What's that?"

"What?" Cassie asked turning around to look for what her Daddy could possibly be talking about while Angel used his arms to push all the balls down the holes. "What are you talkin' about, Dad?"

When she heard the balls roll down, Cassie turned around and said, "Hey! You cheated!"

"Ya caught me, babe," Angel said holding his dizzy head and trying to put on a strong front. "Oh, well. We'll play again another time. Let's go home."

"Dad, are you okay?" Cassie asked as Angel stumbled over to grab his coat and hers.

"Daddy's not feeling very well," Angel replied honestly while clumsily helping Cassie put on her coat. "But don't worry. I'll feel better once I get a good night's sleep. Okay?"

"Okay," Cassie replied nervously as her father helped her get to the ground and held his hand while he grabbed his coat and stumbled to the door.

Once Angel stepped outside, he realized exactly how far gone he was. Angel's head was spinning like it was attached to a top. He couldn't even walk in a straight line as he pulled his concerned daughter over to the alley next to the bar.

Angel knew he was nowhere near ready to drive. He didn't usually mind being in this state or driving in this state, but tonight, he had his daughter with him.

Angel didn't want to risk doing anything dangerous, so he laid down on the park bench sitting in that narrow walkway and tried to clear his head while figuring out what to do next. When Cassie looked at him in confusion, Angel simply sat her on his stomach.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Cassie asked with more concern that before. "Why aren't we going to the car?"

"Daddy's not feelin' too great right now," Angel replied. "But don't worry. I'll drive us home soon. Just give me a minute to feel better. I'll be fine."

"You're sick," Cassie said fearfully. "We need to find you a doctor to help you feel better."

"Doctors don't make house calls at this time of night, Cass," Angel protested stubbornly. "But I'm serious. I don't need one. Just let me lie down for ten minutes and I'll get us home. Okay?"

"Okay," Cassie said nervously. "Can I play in the alley?"

"Sure, kiddo," Angel said pulling her little rag doll out of his coat pocket to give to her. "But you gotta play right here so Daddy can hear you. Okay?"

"Okay," Cassie agreed taking the doll and turning away to play with her on rails of the bench.

Angel shut his eyes and relaxed a bit. He didn't let himself fall asleep, but he focused his mind on clearing his head so that he could take his little girl home. The sounds of his daughter playing nervously without straying away from the bench and the police sirens passing by helped him do just that.

The hangover was a minor setback, but Angel wasn't too upset yet. As far as he knew, he still had the situation completely under control.

At least, until he heard a certain man's feet come running through the alley…

"Hey, mister!" Cassie called out suddenly. "Stop! My Daddy needs help!"

"I'm sorry, young lady," an oddly musical and flamboyant male voice said as his feet slowed down and sounded like they were trying to get around her. "I am in quite the hurry."

"Please, mister!" Cassie begged as Angel opened his eyes. "He's really sick."

Angel's eyes drifted upwards to examine the man talking to his daughter and felt his eyes nearly burst of their sockets.

This man was Caucasian with reddish-brown hair and dark eyes that were almost black and shining in a way that only the eyes of crazy men could. His lips were curled in a smile of the same caliber. He was dressed in a normal suit and black tie with a vest but his white sleeves were stained with blood as was the long coat he carried and the carpet bag he was carrying. His black dress shoes were scuffed which meant that he had been running…

"Young lady," the man chided again without changing his smile while trying to walk past the little girl who kept getting in his path. "I would love to help, but I simply don't have time for…"

A police car drove past the alley and the man immediately flattened himself against the wall. He held his breath and didn't start breathing again until after the cars were gone. Cassie simply watched in confusion.

"Mister, what are you doing?" Cassie asked innocently.

"Uh, nothing, sweetheart," the man replied walking away from the wall and down the alley in the opposite direction. "But now, I must be going. Have a lovely evening."

"Wait, mister!" Cassie yelled after him. "You're hurt! You're bleeding! You need to see a doctor! Somebody, help!"

Angel's heart skipped a beat as the man ran back in a panic towards his daughter.

"Young lady, please stop yelling," the man said getting down to her level and leering at her in a way that made Angel's skin crawl. "I do not need help."

"But you're hurt…" Cassie protested as the man stood up and tried to leave the alley just as the same cop cars were circling back around.

The man visibly grimaced in frustration before he looked at Angel who closed his eyes to look like he was sleeping and then looked back at Cassie. Angel opened his eyes just in time for the man to flash a creepy smile at his daughter.

"Little girl, tonight is our lucky night," the man said in the happy, upbeat tone of a radio host as he squatted until he and Cassie were looking into each other's eyes. "We are very fortunate to have found each other."

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked innocently as the man put his hand behind her back.

"Little girl, what is your name?"

"Cassie."

"Well there, Cassie, I know just where to find a doctor for your Daddy."

"You do?"

"Yes, ma'am," the man said rising to his feet and taking her little hand in his as Angel reached for his revolver. "If you would be so kind as to follow me for a few blocks, we can find the doctor and bring him back here to help your Daddy in a jiffy."

"No," Cassie said pulling her hand out of his as she backed away uncertainly until he was standing in front of her father's line of vision. "I have to stay with Daddy. He said I can't leave with strangers because they might secretly be bad people who wanna hurt me."

The man smiled, came down to her level until his eyes met Cassie's, and said, "You have a good Daddy who loves you very much, sweetheart, and you're a very good girl. But right now, your Daddy needs our help. He's very sick and could die unless we fetch that doctor. You must come with me or we could get lost when we leave his office and not get back in time to save him…"

"CASSIE!" Angel yelled as loudly as he could as he sat up on the bench.

"Daddy!" Cassie squealed excitedly. "You're all better!"

"That's right, baby!" Angel lied while pulling a small rubber ball out of his coat pocket. "Daddy's feelin' fine. Now, you wanna play puppy?"

"Yeah! Arf! Arf!" Cassie barked while sticking her tongue out and panting like a dog.

"Okay, puppy," Angel teased before he threw the small rubber ball as far down the alley as it would go without bouncing it too far. "Now, fetch!"

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Cassie barked as she ran down the alley to fetch her toy.

When she was safely out of earshot, Angel pulled his revolver out of his coat, aimed it at the now-standing man's head, and said, "Listen, buster. I don't know who you are or whose blood you have on your clothes, and I don't care. But you need to get the hell out of here before I ice ya for tryin' to hurt my baby girl."

The man didn't flinch, but he smiled condescendingly and replied, "Oh, how the youth of today have fallen. You're quite young to already have a daughter her age…"

"And you're quite old to be creepin' on little girls," Angel retorted without putting down his gun.

"Oh, sir, I never intended to hurt her..."

"Bushwa. Now, listen, I don't wanna blow your brains out in front of my kid and I can tell you're on the lam, so how about this? How about you beat it?"

The man sighed deeply without changing his smile as he pulled on his long coat and picked up his carpet bag.

"I suppose tonight is not my lucky night after all," the man lamented as he exited the alley. "Have a good evenin', sir."

The man waited until the squad cars turned the corner until he exited the alley, but as soon as he took his first step, Angel fired a gunshot into the air. As soon as he did, the cop cars started heading his way with their sirens blaring.

The strange man looked back at Angel with an angry glare. Angel responded with a smirk, a wink, and a mocking wave. The man then sprinted down the road without turning back.

Angel was satisfied until he heard his daughter crying down the alley. He turned his head and saw his daughter running towards him with the ball in her hands.

"Cassie, what's the matter?" Angel asked gently as his little girl stopped in front of him. "Why are you crying? You don't have to worry about that creepy man. I scared him away."

"Daddy, what was that noise?" Cassie cried between sobs. "It was scary!"

"Cass, it was just Daddy firing his gun to scare the bad man away," Angel said nonchalantly. "No need to cry about it."

"I wanna go home!" Cassie cried as she started to sob harder. "Why can't we go home?!"

It was then that Angel knew he had seriously screwed up. He shouldn't have been out this late with her. It almost got her kidnapped.

As Cassie continued to cry, Angel looked at his daughter for a second before he came up with an idea to calm her down.

"Cassie, come here," Angel said pulling off his overcoat.

Cassie stopped crying long enough to obey him and climb onto the bench next to him. Angel then picked Cassie up, held her against his chest, laid back down on the bench, and laid the coat on top of them both.

"I'm sorry, Cassie," Angel said as he started rubbing her little back. "I kept us out too long. I shouldn't have done that, but you don't need to worry about nothin'. I'll take care of everything. As long as I'm here, I won't let anything or anyone harm you, darlin'. I promise. I love you, so please stop cryin'."

"O-okay," Cassie stammered as she started letting herself calm down. "I love you too, Dad. Are we campin' outside tonight?"

"Sure, we are, hun," Angel soothed. "We're campin' city-style."

"I've never been camping before!"

"Really? Well, tonight, your Pop's gonna show you how it's done. It ain't too hard. I've done it many times. All ya gotta do is find a cozy place and go to sleep. That's all."

Cassie yawned and replied, "Don't we need to build a fire?"

"Not if it ain't too cold," Angel replied reaching his hand down to the ground, picking up her doll, and handing it to her for her to sleep with.

"Don't we need a tent?" Cassie asked as she shut her eyes and started drifting off to sleep.

"Not if it ain't raining," Angel said as Cassie's breathing started to get deeper. "It's clear tonight. We'll be just fine."

"Okay. Goodnight, Dad," Cassie replied before she stopped talking and curled up on her side under Angel's large coat.

Angel waited until he heard Cassie's quiet snores before he made his next move. He held her close to his chest as he stood up.

His head was still spinning. There was no way he could drive his baby home like this without posing a danger to both of them, but he couldn't stay out there vulnerable on the streets either. To make matters worse, Maggie was probably still out with her date. There was no one else he could call at this hour. Shit. He would have to do something desperate.

After pulling on his overcoat and buttoning it up with Cassie still close to his chest, Angel stood up and started walking down the street to find someone he could get to help him.

Eventually, he found that person in the form of a disgruntled African-American middle-aged man walking down the street.

"Hey, mister, are you sober?" Angel asked the man desperately.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" the man replied. "I haven't had alcohol in about three days. I'm sober as a preacher and hating every damn second of it. Thank you for puttin' salt in that wound!"

"Mister, wait!" Angel asked running in front of him before he could walk away. "I need your help. I really need to get home, but I'm still to ossified to drive there. Could you help me?"

"Son, do I look like your goddamn chauffeur?" the man bellowed. "Now, listen, just because I'm a negro doesn't mean I'm gonna do whatever the hell you say, face. Why should I help you?"

"I'll pay ya," Angel offered. "I'll give ya 50 bucks."

"50 bucks? You're shittin' me."

"I'm not. I swear. I'll give you more if you want it. Please. I really need to get home."

"What for? For crime? I know your type. You must be one of the mob. Who else would walk around with that type of dough? You can scram. I'm sober, but I ain't stupid. I know what happens to people who get involved with ya."

"Look, sir," Angel pleaded desperately as the man tried to walk away again. "This ain't anything mob-related. I promise. I just wanna get home."

"Fella, why the hell…?" the man asked before Angel opened his coat to show the sleeping child inside.

The man's demeanor fell, and he instantly understood everything.

Angel looked into his eyes and said, "Please."

The man was quiet for a moment before he sighed reluctantly and said, "Alright, but you gotta tell me where you live."

In no time at all, the man was driving Angel home in his car as he sat in the passenger seat up front still holding his sleeping child.

The ride was quiet until the man asked, "Is she your only daughter or do you have others?"

"She's my only child," Angel asked as he looked down at her.

"Had her young. Didn't you?"

"Yeah, she was a surprise, but she was a good one. I can't imagine my life without her."

"Then, why'd you bring her out with ya?"

"I've done it a bunch of times. I usually stop drinking before it gets too bad to take her home. Tonight, I made a mistake."

The man glanced at her, kept looking at the road, and said, "I know what you mean. I had two of my own once. They change your life forever in a good way. When they as little as she is, they look at you like you hung the moon and stars. You're as big as Robin Hood in their eyes."

"Yeah, it's scary," Angel said holding his daughter close to his chest.

"I lost my little girls a long time ago," the man said sadly. "They died in a fire when I wasn't home."

"God, I'm so sorry," Angel replied sincerely. "I can't imagine. I couldn't go on."

"Why do you think I drink, son?" the man asked. "I have a lot of regrets, but my biggest one is not taking my job seriously as a daddy. I was all they had in this cruel world and I wasn't there when they needed me the most. I hate to sound preachy, son, but you need to take your job seriously, too. You are that little girl's hero, so you have to be there to protect her at all times."

"You're right," Angel said after a pause. "I can't let myself get ossified like that no more when I'm with her on the street. A creep almost snatched her tonight, and if I was more ossified, he may have gotten away with it. He was a real creep, too. He had bloody clothes and eyes that were almost as black as coal."

The man visibly fidgeted at the description before he pulled in front of the apartment and said, "I know who you're talkin' about. I seen him, too. That man is a bonafide demon. God sent you a guardian angel tonight, but next time, you might not be so lucky. You watch yourself and her better for now on. You got it, son?"

"Yeah," Angel said as he and the man got out of the car and shook each other's hands. "Thanks for helpin' me, sir."

"Call me Husk," the man replied handing him back the keys. "Don't mention it."

"Angel," Angel replied as he handed him a $100 bill. "Keep the change, Husk."

Husk looked at the bill and smiled widely before he waved to Angel and walked away.

When Husk left, Angel carried his daughter back to her apartment, got her to her bed, and fell asleep next to her.


	12. Chapter 12

Four-month-old Cassie was not in the mood to be her daddy's drag buddy that night. She had been fine for the first two hours, but now, she was hungry and she was wailing at the top of her lungs to let the whole world know it.

Angel tried to keep his daughter calm as he searched through the crowd of the club for his "wife." Thankfully, Maggie found him.

"There, you are," the 17-year-old mother said taking her baby in her arms from her "husband." "I could hear you screamin' from the bathroom, Cassandra. You got quite the pair of lungs, you poor thing."

"She's hungry, doll," Angel replied rubbing his baby's back while Maggie tried bouncing her up and down to calm her. "She keeps tryin' to go after my bubs and is mad that they're fake."

"Poor baby," Maggie said giving Cassie a kiss on the forehead. "You're growing like a weed, too. Angel, is there anywhere private I can feed her? Those bathrooms are nasty."

Angel thought for a second before he came up with an idea. It wasn't the ideal situation for the young family, but it would do for now. They really needed to plan better in the future.

"Follow me," Angel said.

Maggie followed Angel until they reached the booth on the right side of the club that was closest to the stage. It was empty and quiet since there were no acts scheduled for that weeknight and far enough away from the action that Maggie could feed Cassie with few expected interruptions.

"It won't be private, but it'll be comfortable for ya," Angel said helping Maggie get settled and standing in front of her so no one would see her take off her blouse revealing her bra. "It ain't perfect, but it's the best I can do right now. I'm sorry. I should have planned this out better."

Maggie lifted her milk-laden breast out of her bra and helped Cassie latch onto it. In no time at all, the baby girl was drinking up her milk and calming down.

"That's it, Cassie," Maggie said with a smile. "Calm down. You ain't got nothin' to worry about. Oh, Angel, sometimes I wish I could be this little again. Then, all I'd need to calm down would be a steady supply of mother's milk."

"I know what you mean, but I'd rather be the age I am now," Angel said stroking Cassie's hair. "I mean, if I was little, I wouldn't be able to appreciate having a little one of my own."

Maggie smiled at Cassie, then smiled back to Angel, and said, "I see what you mean. I do like being a mama."

"Yeah," Angel said taking his purple wrap off from around his shoulders and handing it to his "wife". "Cover yourself up while I'm gone. I'm gonna go to the bar. Do you want anything, Mag?"

"A soda and some water, please," Maggie said covering her breasts and her baby. "Nothin' toxic. Mom said it could hurt my ability to feed the baby."

"Got it, honey," Angel said with a wink as he headed over to the counter to pick up some drinks for him and the "wife."

Angel made it over to the counter and placed his order. Unfortunately, just as he finished, he heard a commotion coming from the direction of his "wife" and child.

Angel turned around and saw some strange man in a yellow drag outfit yelling at his "wife." Maggie was yelling back, and Cassie was beginning to cry.

Angel felt his rage boil inside him and immediately strutted over as quick as his high heels would allow to come to her rescue.

As he got closer, he could hear some of the insults.

"Get out of here, ya slut!" the drag queen in the yellow dress yelled at Maggie. "No one wants to see that! It's disgusting!"

"I ain't going nowhere!" Maggie yelled back. "Just lay off! Will ya? I ain't doin' nothin' to ya! Leave me alone! You're upsetting the baby!"

"Not until you leave, you disgustin' degenerate!"

"Oh, look who's talkin', ya fag!"

"SHUT UP!" Angel yelled as he got between Maggie and her harasser. "What the hell you botherin' her for?"

"That chippy has got her tits hangin' out feedin' her bastard out in the open without shame!" the man said adjusting his platinum blonde wing. "It's disgustin'! She shouldn't be doin' that here! It's unnatural!"

Angel scoffed and said, "Unnatural?! Unnatural?! Oh, yeah. That means a lot comin' from the queer wearin' a dress! What the hell would you know about natural?"

"I know it ain't natural to do in public," the yellow drag queen said with a pout.

"So, she should just let the kid starve cuz she's in public?" Angel retorted with an eye roll. "Blow it out your wazoo! My wife's feeding her baby. My daughter! She's doin' the most natural thing on the planet! And if you have to get sore with my wife or my daughter, you and your garish dress can take a powder!"

"Why, I never!" the yellow drag queen said in a huff as he angrily began strutting away. "I'll call management on you, your squeeze, and your illegitimate child!"

"Yeah, sure!" Angel yelled after him. "Just dust off already!"

The yellow drag queen angrily stormed off. Angel held his ground until the palooka was out of his sight before he climbed in the booth in front of his "wife" to block her from the view of anyone else.

"Sheesh, the nerve of some people…" Angel said before he noticed the sad expression on Maggie's face as she tried to calm down their daughter. "Maggie, what's wrong?"

Maggie sighed nervously as she bounced Cassie on her knees and said, "Angel, I know I'm a liberated woman and everything, but I think we just went too far. Maybe I should leave."

Angel looked at her confusedly as the baby finally began to calm down enough to feed again and asked, "Maggie, what do you mean?"

"I know it's a new world for women and everything," Maggie said as she pulled up her blouse and helped Cassie latch on so that she could continue to nurse. "I mean, I'm a young mother with a job. That would have been unthinkable when my mother was a child. I'm proud of it, but I think I'm beginning to push my luck. I shouldn't be out here in a club feeding my baby in public like this…"

"What are you saying?" Angel asked as he scooted closer to her. "Millions of women around the world breastfeed their babies in public. Why can't you?"

"We ain't in Bolivia or anywhere like that, Angel," Maggie said still looking around nervously. "Women are expected to behave a certain way here in America. Don't get me wrong. I am definitely a new woman, but maybe there are some things I still shouldn't be doing…"

Angel finally scooted close enough to Maggie that he hugged her sideways and shared a long kiss with her.

"Angel?" Maggie said pulling away in surprise before Angel gave her another kiss on the cheek.

"Why the hell are ya letting some prude tell ya how you're supposed to live your life?" Angel said giving Maggie another warm hug. "If you start doin' that, you'll never leave your house before too long. Besides, you ain't doin' nothin' wrong at all. Look how big and strong our baby girl is getting because of you…"

Angel gave Maggie another kiss on the mouth before she finally hugged him back and said, "Thank you. But please, be gentle. You might hurt Cassie if you go at me too hard. Why are you showing me so much affection anyhow?"

"Look behind me at the bar," Angel said resting his head on Maggie's shoulder to suck on her neck while she looked over to see the yellow drag queen staring daggers at them from the bar.

In an instant, Maggie understood.

"Are you tryin' to make him jealous?" Maggie asked stroking her daughter's back as she continued to nurse. "How do you know he even likes girls?"

Angel smiled and said, "He was checkin' you out all night, doll. He was totally into ya. Why do you think he was so upset that you were nursing a baby? I thought as your 'husband' I could rub into his face what he will never have. I'm sorry. I guess I should have asked first."

"It's okay," Maggie said with a sly smirk as she kissed Angel back. "If the palooka is watching, we might as well give him a show, right?"

"Hell, yes," Angel said leaning over and kissing his baby girl on the top of her head.


End file.
